Cost of living comparison

Islamabad, Pakistan

compared to

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Dushanbe vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Dushanbe is 63.5% more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Dushanbe
Groceries: pay 53.0% more in Dushanbe
Transportation: pay 19.9% less in Dushanbe
Housing: pay 60.2% more in Dushanbe
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Dushanbe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.6% more in Dushanbe
Clothing: pay 29.0% more in Dushanbe

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

Dushanbe vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.79 PKR500.81	$5.61 TJS60.86	+213.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 PKR1,201.96	$9.16 TJS99.34	+113.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.35 PKR99.02	$0.62 TJS6.76	+76.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 PKR67.71	$0.28 TJS3.04	+16.0%
Average			+104.8%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 53.0% more for groceries

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Bread 1 loaf	$0.68 PKR189.73	$0.57 TJS6.19	-15.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.96 PKR828.20	$4.28 TJS46.38	+44.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.31 PKR927.15	$3.05 TJS33.02	-8.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.25 PKR349.78	$1.75 TJS18.99	+40.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 PKR459.16	$1.88 TJS20.43	+14.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.48 PKR134.94	$0.54 TJS5.89	+12.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.38 PKR107.09	$1.07 TJS11.59	+179.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.37 PKR103.96	$1.09 TJS11.83	+193.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 PKR73.00	$0.38 TJS4.14	+46.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.19 PKR52.76	$0.34 TJS3.64	+77.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR70.15	$0.24 TJS2.63	-3.1%
Average			+53.0%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.9% less for transportation

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 PKR1,065.05	$3.19 TJS34.56	-16.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.80 PKR1,903.10	$4.68 TJS50.72	-31.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,479.46 PKR6,009,778.29	$20,113.17 TJS218,074.88	-6.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.27 PKR1,195.95	$3.18 TJS34.49	-25.6%
Average			-19.9%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 60.2% more for housing

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.16 PKR5,079.69	$23.95 TJS259.66	+31.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$174.15 PKR48,726.34	$413.18 TJS4,479.83	+137.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$99.01 PKR27,701.32	$210.49 TJS2,282.18	+112.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$84.99 PKR23,778.56	$50.33 TJS545.70	-40.8%
Average			+60.2%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$60.17 PKR16,835.08	$106.65 TJS1,156.30	+77.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,142.14 PKR879,144.71	$13,658.24 TJS148,088.06	+334.7%
Average			+205.9%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.79 PKR500.81	$1.12 TJS12.17	-37.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.97 PKR550.42	$2.29 TJS24.85	+16.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.15 PKR600.98	$2.34 TJS25.36	+8.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$23.01 PKR6,439.05	$37.11 TJS402.34	+61.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.30 PKR1,201.96	$4.68 TJS50.72	+8.9%
Average			+11.6%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.0% more for clothing

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.06 PKR5,332.21	$28.06 TJS304.29	+47.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.18 PKR7,324.42	$36.11 TJS391.52	+37.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.29 PKR23,304.58	$76.71 TJS831.73	-7.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.79 PKR10,853.91	$53.79 TJS583.22	+38.7%
Average			+29.0%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - 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

Islamabad vs.

Rome

Islamabad vs.

Ankara

Islamabad vs.

Quito

Islamabad vs.

Dublin

Islamabad vs.

Lima

Islamabad vs.

Hanoi

Islamabad vs.

Beijing

Islamabad vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Islamabad

Add prices for Dushanbe

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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