Cost of living comparison

compared to

Colombo vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 34.4% more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 65.2% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 2.8 times more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 4.6% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 15.1% more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 64.8% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 65.4% more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 10.8% less in Colombo

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

Colombo vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 65.2% more for restaurants

	Islamabad	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.83 PKR797.05	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	+46.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.95 PKR1,394.83	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	+66.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 PKR108.41	$0.76 LKR233.26	+97.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 PKR67.84	$0.36 LKR111.43	+50.6%
Average			+65.2%

Islamabad vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.8 times more for groceries

	Islamabad	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.67 PKR188.43	$0.52 LKR160.10	-22.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.36 PKR945.25	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	+102.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.75 PKR1,056.00	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	+78.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.23 PKR345.60	$1.95 LKR600.76	+59.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 PKR415.61	$2.05 LKR629.94	+39.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.49 PKR138.31	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	+597.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 PKR104.33	$0.50 LKR152.38	+33.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.40 PKR113.19	$2.69 LKR826.88	+569.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.24 PKR67.15	$0.55 LKR168.43	+130.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.17 PKR48.67	$0.51 LKR157.17	+196.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.24 PKR66.89	$0.58 LKR177.69	+143.5%
Average			+175.2%

Islamabad vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.6% less for transportation

	Islamabad	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.56 PKR1,003.00	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	+15.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.37 PKR2,640.22	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	-29.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,219.01 PKR5,977,857.69	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	+24.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.28 PKR1,205.53	$3.04 LKR934.09	-29.0%
Average			-4.6%

Islamabad vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.1% more for housing

	Islamabad	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.04 PKR5,081.18	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	-22.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$204.95 PKR57,738.51	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	+76.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$111.30 PKR31,356.08	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	+59.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.95 PKR23,085.99	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	-52.7%
Average			+15.1%

Islamabad vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 64.8% less for childcare

	Islamabad	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$60.67 PKR17,092.94	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	-44.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,476.38 PKR979,372.35	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	-85.5%
Average			-64.8%

Islamabad vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 65.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.01 PKR846.86	$2.31 LKR710.72	-23.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.08 PKR584.83	$2.67 LKR820.10	+28.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.12 PKR597.79	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	+382.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$21.87 PKR6,161.39	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	-39.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.24 PKR1,195.57	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	-22.1%
Average			+65.4%

Islamabad vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% less for clothing

	Islamabad	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$21.22 PKR5,977.86	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	+25.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.98 PKR7,882.57	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	-36.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.73 PKR25,841.78	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	-26.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.09 PKR11,293.96	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	-5.0%
Average			-10.8%

Islamabad vs. Colombo - 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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