Cost of living comparison

Islamabad, Pakistan

compared to

Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Kabul is 5.8% more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 23.2% more in Kabul
Groceries: pay 21.9% less in Kabul
Transportation: pay 20.1% more in Kabul
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Kabul
Childcare: pay 57.3% less in Kabul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.1% less in Kabul
Clothing: pay 48.8% less in Kabul

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

Kabul vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.2% more for restaurants

	Islamabad	Kabul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.79 PKR502.89	$2.63 AFN190	+47.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 PKR1,206.93	$7.31 AFN527	+70.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.35 PKR99.43	$0.38 AFN27	+6.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 PKR67.99	$0.17 AFN12	-30.9%
Average			+23.2%

Islamabad vs. Kabul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.9% less for groceries

	Islamabad	Kabul
Bread 1 loaf	$0.68 PKR190.51	$0.25 AFN18	-63.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.96 PKR831.63	$1.96 AFN141	-33.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.31 PKR930.99	$3.05 AFN219	-8.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.25 PKR351.22	$1.48 AFN107	+18.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.64 PKR461.06	$1.54 AFN111	-6.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.48 PKR135.50	$0.25 AFN18	-48.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.38 PKR107.54	$0.36 AFN26	-4.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.37 PKR104.39	$0.37 AFN27
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 PKR73.31	$0.23 AFN16	-13.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.19 PKR52.98	$0.15 AFN11	-20.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR70.44	$0.15 AFN11	-39.6%
Average			-21.9%

Islamabad vs. Kabul - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.1% more for transportation

	Islamabad	Kabul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 PKR1,069.46	$3.96 AFN285	+4.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.80 PKR1,910.97	$8.93 AFN643	+31.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,479.46 PKR6,034,653.13	$7,079.28 AFN509,708	-67.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.27 PKR1,200.90	$9.07 AFN653	+112.2%
Average			+20.1%

Islamabad vs. Kabul - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Islamabad	Kabul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.16 PKR5,100.72	$130.18 AFN9,373	+617.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$174.15 PKR48,928.02	$103.61 AFN7,460	-40.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$99.01 PKR27,815.98	$89.85 AFN6,469	-9.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$84.99 PKR23,876.98	$70.84 AFN5,100	-16.6%
Average			+137.7%

Islamabad vs. Kabul - Cost of housing

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pay 57.3% less for childcare

	Islamabad	Kabul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$60.17 PKR16,904.77	$23.40 AFN1,685	-61.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,142.14 PKR882,783.54	$1,462.66 AFN105,312	-53.5%
Average			-57.3%

Islamabad vs. Kabul - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Kabul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.79 PKR502.89	$2.93 AFN211	+63.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.97 PKR552.70	$1.27 AFN91	-35.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.15 PKR603.47	$2.63 AFN190	+22.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$23.01 PKR6,465.70	$8.78 AFN632	-61.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.30 PKR1,206.93	$2.19 AFN158	-48.9%
Average			-12.1%

Islamabad vs. Kabul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 48.8% less for clothing

	Islamabad	Kabul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.06 PKR5,354.28	$10.97 AFN790	-42.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.18 PKR7,354.73	$16.03 AFN1,154	-38.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.29 PKR23,401.04	$23.77 AFN1,711	-71.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.79 PKR10,898.83	$22.38 AFN1,611	-42.3%
Average			-48.8%

Islamabad vs. Kabul - 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: April 2025

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

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