Cost of living comparison

compared to

Islamabad vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 1.5% cheaper than Apia.

Restaurants
pay 84.3% less in Islamabad
Groceries
pay 54.3% less in Islamabad
Transportation
pay 23.4% less in Islamabad
Housing
pay 3.0 times more in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports
pay 19.5% less in Islamabad

Expenses including restaurants, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Islamabad. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Islamabad.

Islamabad vs. Apia Cost Breakdown

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

pay 84.3% less for restaurants

 
Apia
Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $47.26
WST130.00
$3.61
PKR1,000.60
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$14.54
WST40.00
$5.42
PKR1,500.90
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.82
WST5.00
$0.34
PKR94.34

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pay 54.3% less for groceries

 
Apia
Islamabad
Bread
1 loaf
$0.82
WST2.25
$0.75
PKR207.99
Local cheese (8 oz) $0.45
WST1.25
$3.07
PKR851.32
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
WST18.93
$3.63
PKR1,006.10

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pay 23.4% less for transportation

 
Apia
Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.13
WST11.36
$5.11
PKR1,415.40
Monthly public transit pass ?? $21.66
PKR6,003.60
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $54,159.34
PKR15M

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

 
Apia
Islamabad
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$36.35
WST100.00
$17.07
PKR4,730.11
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $273.02
PKR75,662.04
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $139.79
PKR38,739.90

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Apia
Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $74.62
PKR20,679.07
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $5,015.34
PKR1M

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pay 19.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Apia
Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.45
WST9.50
$3.61
PKR1,000.60
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.91
WST8.00
$2.65
PKR733.85
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.18
WST17.00
$2.30
PKR637.38

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Apia
Islamabad
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $24.82
PKR6,879.13
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $34.87
PKR9,662.61
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $96.43
PKR26,724.48

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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