Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 16.4% cheaper than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 20.8% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 50.1% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 59.0% more in Islamabad
Housing: pay 38.5% less in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.1% more in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 35.8% more in Islamabad

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

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Islamabad vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.8% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	-5.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	-28.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 LKR232.56	$0.34 PKR94.38	-51.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 LKR87.00	$0.22 PKR60.62	-16.8%
Average			-20.8%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.1% less for groceries

	Colombo	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 LKR181.98	$0.75 PKR208.08	+36.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	$3.07 PKR851.66	-55.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	-39.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 LKR541.78	$1.24 PKR343.64	-24.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.21 LKR731.08	$1.41 PKR390.48	-36.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	$0.59 PKR163.19	-80.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 LKR122.81	$0.38 PKR106.19	+3.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.03 LKR672.87	$0.47 PKR131.67	-76.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 LKR187.42	$0.25 PKR68.12	-56.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 LKR150.85	$0.13 PKR35.52	-71.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 LKR116.82	$0.17 PKR46.29	-52.7%
Average			-50.1%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 59.0% more for transportation

	Colombo	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	-0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	+201.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,024.95 LKR12M	$54,159.34 PKR15M	+46.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	+113.7%
Average			+59.0%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.5% less for housing

	Colombo	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	-17.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$589.61 LKR195K	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	-53.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	-48.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	+89.5%
Average			-38.5%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	+97.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,208.98 LKR400K	$5,015.34 PKR1M	+314.8%
Average			+186.2%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 LKR730.76	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	+63.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.51 LKR832.69	$2.65 PKR734.15	+5.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	$2.30 PKR637.64	-77.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	+101.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	-4.4%
Average			+13.1%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 35.8% more for clothing

	Colombo	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	+36.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	+109.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	+21.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	-2.7%
Average			+35.8%

Colombo vs. Islamabad - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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