Cost of living comparison

Kathmandu, Nepal

compared to

Islamabad, Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 0.2% more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 1.8% more in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 16.0% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 37.4% less in Islamabad
Housing: pay 71.0% more in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 22.1% less in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.6% less in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 5.5% more in Islamabad

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

Islamabad vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.8% more for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.47 NPR201.78	$1.79 PKR505.13	+21.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 NPR1,007.91	$4.30 PKR1,212.30	-41.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 NPR62.48	$0.35 PKR99.88	-22.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.16 NPR22.15	$0.24 PKR68.29	+49.7%
Average			+1.8%

Kathmandu vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.0% less for groceries

	Kathmandu	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 NPR77.52	$0.68 PKR191.36	+19.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.70 NPR643.25	$2.96 PKR835.33	-37.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 NPR434.62	$3.31 PKR935.13	+4.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 NPR222.54	$1.25 PKR352.79	-23.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 NPR202.50	$1.64 PKR463.11	+11.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 NPR148.96	$0.48 PKR136.10	-55.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 NPR64.47	$0.38 PKR108.01	-18.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.52 NPR71.55	$0.37 PKR104.86	-28.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 NPR44.86	$0.26 PKR73.63	-20.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR29.78	$0.19 PKR53.22	-13.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR40.12	$0.25 PKR70.76	-14.4%
Average			-16.0%

Kathmandu vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.4% less for transportation

	Kathmandu	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85 NPR664.82	$3.81 PKR1,074.21	-21.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.94 NPR1,362.04	$6.80 PKR1,919.48	-31.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,138.99 NPR4,540,133.87	$21,479.46 PKR6,061,502.45	-35.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.05 NPR1,513.38	$4.27 PKR1,206.24	-61.3%
Average			-37.4%

Kathmandu vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 71.0% more for housing

	Kathmandu	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.42 NPR1,428.01	$18.16 PKR5,123.41	+74.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$191.60 NPR26,250.38	$174.15 PKR49,145.71	-9.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$102.03 NPR13,977.73	$99.01 PKR27,939.74	-3.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$26.40 NPR3,616.53	$84.99 PKR23,983.21	+221.9%
Average			+71.0%

Kathmandu vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 22.1% less for childcare

	Kathmandu	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$91.89 NPR12,588.55	$60.17 PKR16,979.98	-34.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,479.59 NPR476,714.06	$3,142.14 PKR886,711.22	-9.7%
Average			-22.1%

Kathmandu vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 NPR353.12	$1.79 PKR505.13	-30.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 NPR227.39	$1.97 PKR555.16	+18.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 NPR403.57	$2.15 PKR606.15	-27.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.71 NPR3,110.83	$23.01 PKR6,494.47	+1.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.31 NPR454.01	$4.30 PKR1,212.30	+29.6%
Average			-1.6%

Kathmandu vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.5% more for clothing

	Kathmandu	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.02 NPR3,290.63	$19.06 PKR5,378.10	-20.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.19 NPR4,273.07	$26.18 PKR7,387.46	-16.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.29 NPR7,301.38	$83.29 PKR23,505.16	+56.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.76 NPR5,173.00	$38.79 PKR10,947.33	+2.7%
Average			+5.5%

Kathmandu vs. Islamabad - 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: June 2025

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