Cost of living comparison

Pakistan

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Islamabad Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 2.4 times more expensive than Islamabad.

Restaurants: pay 86.7% more in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 16.1% less in Riyadh
Housing: pay 4.0 times more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 3.8 times more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 97.9% more in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 77.6% more in Riyadh

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

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Riyadh vs. Islamabad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 86.7% more for restaurants

	Islamabad	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$7.99 SAR30.00	+121.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	$7.99 SAR30.00	+47.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 PKR94.38	$0.87 SAR3.28	+156.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.22 PKR60.62	$0.31 SAR1.18	+43.4%
Average			+86.7%

Islamabad vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Islamabad	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.75 PKR208.08	$1.29 SAR4.83	+71.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.07 PKR851.66	$5.27 SAR19.78	+71.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	$6.76 SAR25.39	+86.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.24 PKR343.64	$3.08 SAR11.57	+148.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.41 PKR390.48	$4.34 SAR16.27	+207.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.59 PKR163.19	$1.30 SAR4.88	+120.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.38 PKR106.19	$0.87 SAR3.28	+128.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.47 PKR131.67	$1.13 SAR4.23	+137.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR68.12	$0.80 SAR2.99	+223.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.13 PKR35.52	$0.54 SAR2.04	+324.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.17 PKR46.29	$0.59 SAR2.21	+252.9%
Average			+150.5%

Islamabad vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.1% less for transportation

	Islamabad	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	$2.35 SAR8.82	-54.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	$37.31 SAR140.01	+72.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$54,159.34 PKR15M	$34,642.08 SAR130K	-36.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	$18.12 SAR68.00	+157.4%
Average			-16.1%

Islamabad vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.0 times more for housing

	Islamabad	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	$71.73 SAR269.20	+320.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	$1,186.87 SAR4,454.14	+334.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	$833.69 SAR3,128.72	+496.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	$81.86 SAR307.20	+5.0%
Average			+298.0%

Islamabad vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 3.8 times more for childcare

	Islamabad	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	$530.73 SAR1,991.76	+611.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,015.34 PKR1M	$10,105.80 SAR37,925.40	+101.5%
Average			+278.6%

Islamabad vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 97.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Islamabad	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	$2.13 SAR8.00	-41.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.65 PKR734.15	$4.28 SAR16.07	+61.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.30 PKR637.64	$7.73 SAR29.00	+236.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	$89.94 SAR337.52	+218.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	$13.32 SAR50.00	+207.5%
Average			+97.9%

Islamabad vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 77.6% more for clothing

	Islamabad	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	$58.30 SAR218.78	+134.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	$54.26 SAR203.65	+55.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	$102.59 SAR385.02	+6.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	$103.93 SAR390.02	+155.9%
Average			+77.6%

Islamabad vs. Riyadh - 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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