Cost of living comparison

compared to

Islamabad vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 42.8% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 38.6% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 46.3% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 12.3% more in Islamabad
Housing: pay 14.9% more in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 4.3 times more in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.2% more in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 19.8% more in Islamabad

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

Islamabad vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

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pay 38.6% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	$2.83 PKR797.05	-31.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	$4.95 PKR1,394.83	-40.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LKR233.26	$0.38 PKR108.41	-49.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 LKR111.43	$0.24 PKR67.84	-33.6%
Average			-38.6%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.3% less for groceries

	Colombo	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$0.52 LKR160.10	$0.67 PKR188.43	+28.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	$3.36 PKR945.25	-50.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	$3.75 PKR1,056.00	-44.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.95 LKR600.76	$1.23 PKR345.60	-37.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR629.94	$1.48 PKR415.61	-28.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	$0.49 PKR138.31	-85.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LKR152.38	$0.37 PKR104.33	-25.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69 LKR826.88	$0.40 PKR113.19	-85.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR168.43	$0.24 PKR67.15	-56.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR157.17	$0.17 PKR48.67	-66.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 LKR177.69	$0.24 PKR66.89	-58.9%
Average			-46.3%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.3% more for transportation

	Colombo	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	$3.56 PKR1,003.00	-13.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	$9.37 PKR2,640.22	+41.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	$21,219.01 PKR5,977,857.69	-19.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.04 LKR934.09	$4.28 PKR1,205.53	+40.8%
Average			+12.3%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.9% more for housing

	Colombo	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	$18.04 PKR5,081.18	+28.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	$204.95 PKR57,738.51	-43.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	$111.30 PKR31,356.08	-37.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	$81.95 PKR23,085.99	+111.3%
Average			+14.9%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 4.3 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	$60.67 PKR17,092.94	+79.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	$3,476.38 PKR979,372.35	+587.7%
Average			+333.5%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 LKR710.72	$3.01 PKR846.86	+30.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.67 LKR820.10	$2.08 PKR584.83	-22.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	$2.12 PKR597.79	-79.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	$21.87 PKR6,161.39	+64.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	$4.24 PKR1,195.57	+28.4%
Average			+4.2%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.8% more for clothing

	Colombo	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	$21.22 PKR5,977.86	-20.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	$27.98 PKR7,882.57	+57.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	$91.73 PKR25,841.78	+36.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	$40.09 PKR11,293.96	+5.3%
Average			+19.8%

Colombo 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: December 2025

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