Cost of living comparison

Islamabad, Pakistan

compared to

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 3.9 times more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 3.3 times more in Abu Dhabi
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Abu Dhabi
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in Abu Dhabi
Housing: pay 6.2 times more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare: pay 7.6 times more in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.6 times more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing: pay 2.4 times more in Abu Dhabi

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and groceries in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Islamabad. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Islamabad, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3 times more for restaurants

	Islamabad	Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.79 PKR501.59	$10.89 AED40.00	+508.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 PKR1,203.83	$9.53 AED35.00	+121.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.35 PKR99.18	$1.08 AED3.95	+204.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 PKR67.82	$0.42 AED1.53	+72.6%
Average			+226.7%

Islamabad vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Islamabad	Abu Dhabi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.68 PKR190.02	$1.37 AED5.03	+102.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.96 PKR829.49	$4.80 AED17.63	+62.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.31 PKR928.60	$6.85 AED25.17	+106.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.25 PKR350.32	$3.16 AED11.63	+153.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 PKR459.87	$3.61 AED13.25	+119.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.48 PKR135.15	$1.00 AED3.67	+107.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.38 PKR107.26	$0.82 AED3.00	+113.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.37 PKR104.12	$0.81 AED2.97	+117.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 PKR73.12	$0.69 AED2.52	+163.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.19 PKR52.85	$0.50 AED1.83	+163.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR70.26	$0.58 AED2.13	+131.7%
Average			+121.9%

Islamabad vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	Islamabad	Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 PKR1,066.70	$3.03 AED11.11	-20.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.80 PKR1,906.06	$24.50 AED90.00	+260.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,479.46 PKR6,019,126.70	$45,026.41 AED165,384.25	+109.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.27 PKR1,197.81	$7.23 AED26.56	+69.2%
Average			+104.6%

Islamabad vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.2 times more for housing

	Islamabad	Abu Dhabi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.16 PKR5,087.60	$103.04 AED378.47	+467.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$174.15 PKR48,802.14	$1,349.31 AED4,956.07	+674.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$99.01 PKR27,744.41	$1,005.59 AED3,693.60	+915.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$84.99 PKR23,815.54	$119.02 AED437.15	+40.0%
Average			+524.5%

Islamabad vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing

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pay 7.6 times more for childcare

	Islamabad	Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$60.17 PKR16,861.27	$669.40 AED2,458.73	+1012.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,142.14 PKR880,512.25	$12,841.46 AED47,167.31	+308.7%
Average			+660.6%

Islamabad vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.6 times more for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.79 PKR501.59	$10.89 AED40.00	+508.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.97 PKR551.28	$5.88 AED21.61	+199.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.15 PKR601.91	$6.13 AED22.50	+185.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$23.01 PKR6,449.06	$64.83 AED238.13	+181.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.30 PKR1,203.83	$13.61 AED50.00	+216.9%
Average			+258.3%

Islamabad vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.4 times more for clothing

	Islamabad	Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.06 PKR5,340.50	$67.20 AED246.82	+252.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.18 PKR7,335.81	$62.59 AED229.91	+139.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.29 PKR23,340.84	$103.06 AED378.56	+23.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.79 PKR10,870.79	$100.93 AED370.72	+160.2%
Average			+143.9%

Islamabad vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of clothing

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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: March 2025

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