Cost of living comparison

Colombo, Sri Lanka

compared to

Islamabad vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 25.1% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 45.0% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 47.8% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 5.9% less in Islamabad
Housing: pay 4.5% more in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 3.7 times more in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.2% less in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 1.5% more in Islamabad

The cost of childcare, housing, and clothing in Islamabad are more expensive than in Colombo. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Islamabad. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Islamabad.

Islamabad vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Islamabad instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 45.0% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.40 LKR1,018.10	$1.79 PKR502.89	-47.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.48 LKR2,239.82	$4.30 PKR1,206.93	-42.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 LKR221.44	$0.35 PKR99.43	-52.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 LKR117.08	$0.24 PKR67.99	-38.1%
Average			-45.0%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.8% less for groceries

	Colombo	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 LKR170.67	$0.68 PKR190.51	+19.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 LKR2,078.08	$2.96 PKR831.63	-57.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 LKR1,959.34	$3.31 PKR930.99	-49.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.22 LKR664.38	$1.25 PKR351.22	-43.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.38 LKR713.33	$1.64 PKR461.06	-31.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.28 LKR981.64	$0.48 PKR135.50	-85.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR152.88	$0.38 PKR107.54	-25.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.65 LKR792.59	$0.37 PKR104.39	-86.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 LKR158.66	$0.26 PKR73.31	-50.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR152.33	$0.19 PKR52.98	-62.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR163.49	$0.25 PKR70.44	-54.0%
Average			-47.8%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.9% less for transportation

	Colombo	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.84 LKR1,448.82	$3.81 PKR1,069.46	-21.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.80 LKR2,036.20	$6.80 PKR1,910.97	+0.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,303.89 LKR10,578,066.42	$21,479.46 PKR6,034,653.13	-39.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.13 LKR936.65	$4.27 PKR1,200.90	+36.7%
Average			-5.9%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.5% more for housing

	Colombo	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.40 LKR4,913.55	$18.16 PKR5,100.72	+10.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$297.60 LKR89,168.65	$174.15 PKR48,928.02	-41.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$180.09 LKR53,959.24	$99.01 PKR27,815.98	-45.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.85 LKR13,137.67	$84.99 PKR23,876.98	+93.8%
Average			+4.5%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.7 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$28.60 LKR8,569.01	$60.17 PKR16,904.77	+110.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$586.98 LKR175,876.90	$3,142.14 PKR882,783.54	+435.3%
Average			+272.9%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.04 LKR610.86	$1.79 PKR502.89	-12.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 LKR776.21	$1.97 PKR552.70	-24.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.34 LKR2,799.78	$2.15 PKR603.47	-77.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.89 LKR4,160.51	$23.01 PKR6,465.70	+65.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.40 LKR1,018.10	$4.30 PKR1,206.93	+26.4%
Average			-4.2%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.5% more for clothing

	Colombo	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$29.69 LKR8,896.16	$19.06 PKR5,354.28	-35.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.31 LKR6,685.53	$26.18 PKR7,354.73	+17.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.77 LKR20,605.47	$83.29 PKR23,401.04	+21.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.51 LKR11,238.27	$38.79 PKR10,898.83	+3.4%
Average			+1.5%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Colombo vs.

Manila

Colombo vs.

Singapore

Colombo vs.

Ottawa

Colombo vs.

Athens

Colombo vs.

Paris

Colombo vs.

Dublin

Colombo vs.

Dodoma

Colombo vs.

Moscow

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Colombo

Add prices for Islamabad

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Islamabad or Colombo. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.