Cost of living comparison

Pakistan

compared to

South Africa

Cape Town vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Cape Town is 2.3 times more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Cape Town
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in Cape Town
Transportation: pay 26.3% more in Cape Town
Housing: pay 3.4 times more in Cape Town
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Cape Town
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.8% more in Cape Town
Clothing: pay 60.8% more in Cape Town

The cost of housing, restaurants, groceries, childcare, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Cape Town are more expensive than in Islamabad. Notably, housing, restaurants, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Cape Town.

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Cape Town vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cape Town instead of Islamabad, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Islamabad	Cape Town
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$12.02 ZAR198.22	+232.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	$6.01 ZAR99.11	+10.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 PKR94.38	$1.30 ZAR21.44	+281.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.22 PKR60.62	$0.99 ZAR16.37	+354.1%
Average			+137.0%

Islamabad vs. Cape Town - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Islamabad	Cape Town
Bread 1 loaf	$0.75 PKR208.08	$1.23 ZAR20.34	+64.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.07 PKR851.66	$4.39 ZAR72.41	+42.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	$4.99 ZAR82.36	+37.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.24 PKR343.64	$3.14 ZAR51.78	+153.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.41 PKR390.48	$3.07 ZAR50.65	+118.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.59 PKR163.19	$0.85 ZAR13.99	+44.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.38 PKR106.19	$0.87 ZAR14.35	+127.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.47 PKR131.67	$0.77 ZAR12.72	+62.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR68.12	$0.95 ZAR15.70	+287.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.13 PKR35.52	$0.70 ZAR11.51	+444.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.17 PKR46.29	$0.68 ZAR11.29	+310.0%
Average			+126.9%

Islamabad vs. Cape Town - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.3% more for transportation

	Islamabad	Cape Town
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	$5.86 ZAR96.61	+14.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	$60.09 ZAR991.09	+177.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$54,159.34 PKR15M	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	-34.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	$12.62 ZAR208.13	+79.2%
Average			+26.3%

Islamabad vs. Cape Town - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.4 times more for housing

	Islamabad	Cape Town
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	$39.98 ZAR659.39	+134.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	$1,017.49 ZAR16,782.53	+272.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	$706.64 ZAR11,655.27	+405.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	$88.53 ZAR1,460.27	+13.6%
Average			+244.2%

Islamabad vs. Cape Town - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Islamabad	Cape Town
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	$262.39 ZAR4,327.78	+251.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,015.34 PKR1M	$6,820.14 ZAR112K	+36.0%
Average			+118.7%

Islamabad vs. Cape Town - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Cape Town
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$3.00 ZAR49.55	-16.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.65 PKR734.15	$2.43 ZAR40.04	-8.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.30 PKR637.64	$3.61 ZAR59.47	+56.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	$49.37 ZAR814.26	+74.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	$9.01 ZAR148.66	+108.0%
Average			+36.8%

Islamabad vs. Cape Town - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 60.8% more for clothing

	Islamabad	Cape Town
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	$55.49 ZAR915.30	+123.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	$32.30 ZAR532.71	-7.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	$119.84 ZAR1,976.68	+24.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	$105.58 ZAR1,741.49	+159.9%
Average			+60.8%

Islamabad vs. Cape Town - 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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