Cost of living comparison

Pakistan

compared to

Tajikistan

Dushanbe vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Dushanbe is 35.0% more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 27.1% more in Dushanbe
Groceries: pay 64.2% more in Dushanbe
Transportation: pay 31.5% less in Dushanbe
Housing: pay 90.1% more in Dushanbe
Childcare: pay 12.5% more in Dushanbe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.2% less in Dushanbe
Clothing: pay 13.4% more in Dushanbe

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

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Dushanbe vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.1% more for restaurants

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$4.88 TJS44.99	+35.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	$5.42 TJS49.99
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 PKR94.38	$0.60 TJS5.57	+77.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.22 PKR60.62	$0.35 TJS3.25	+61.0%
Average			+27.1%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 64.2% more for groceries

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Bread 1 loaf	$0.75 PKR208.08	$0.62 TJS5.69	-17.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.07 PKR851.66	$5.53 TJS50.99	+79.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	$4.10 TJS37.85	+13.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.24 PKR343.64	$1.81 TJS16.68	+45.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.41 PKR390.48	$1.96 TJS18.07	+39.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.59 PKR163.19	$0.85 TJS7.86	+44.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.38 PKR106.19	$1.29 TJS11.87	+235.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.47 PKR131.67	$1.20 TJS11.11	+153.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR68.12	$0.57 TJS5.22	+130.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.13 PKR35.52	$0.28 TJS2.56	+116.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.17 PKR46.29	$0.19 TJS1.74	+12.8%
Average			+64.2%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.5% less for transportation

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	$4.37 TJS40.37	-14.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	$32.50 TJS299.95	+50.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$54,159.34 PKR15M	$16,250.83 TJS150K	-70.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	$3.68 TJS33.99	-47.7%
Average			-31.5%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of transportation

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pay 90.1% more for housing

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	$17.18 TJS158.54	+0.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	$628.00 TJS5,795.70	+130.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	$352.75 TJS3,255.46	+152.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	$51.70 TJS477.10	-33.7%
Average			+90.1%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of housing

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pay 12.5% more for childcare

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	$83.42 TJS769.87	+11.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,015.34 PKR1M	$5,679.67 TJS52,416.23	+13.2%
Average			+12.5%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$1.19 TJS11.00	-67.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.65 PKR734.15	$1.79 TJS16.50	-32.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.30 PKR637.64	$3.79 TJS34.99	+64.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	$45.50 TJS419.93	+61.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	$5.42 TJS49.99	+25.0%
Average			-7.2%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.4% more for clothing

	Islamabad	Dushanbe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	$24.38 TJS224.96	-1.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	$52.65 TJS485.92	+51.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	$77.64 TJS716.55	-19.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	$56.34 TJS519.91	+38.7%
Average			+13.4%

Islamabad vs. Dushanbe - 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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