Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Mecca Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 34.5% cheaper than Mecca.

Restaurants: pay 23.6% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 50.0% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 34.9% more in Islamabad
Housing: pay 42.3% less in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 82.7% less in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.2% less in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 20.3% more in Islamabad

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

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Islamabad vs. Mecca Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.6% less for restaurants

	Mecca	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.53 SAR17.00	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	-20.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.93 SAR26.00	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	-21.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 SAR2.60	$0.34 PKR94.38	-50.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 SAR0.90	$0.22 PKR60.62	-8.8%
Average			-23.6%

Mecca vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.0% less for groceries

	Mecca	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 SAR3.67	$0.75 PKR208.08	-23.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.98 SAR11.17	$3.07 PKR851.66	+3.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.49 SAR24.37	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	-44.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 SAR9.23	$1.24 PKR343.64	-49.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.71 SAR13.92	$1.41 PKR390.48	-62.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 SAR3.48	$0.59 PKR163.19	-36.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 SAR2.72	$0.38 PKR106.19	-47.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.71 SAR2.67	$0.47 PKR131.67	-33.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 SAR2.57	$0.25 PKR68.12	-64.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 SAR1.95	$0.13 PKR35.52	-75.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 SAR2.17	$0.17 PKR46.29	-71.1%
Average			-50.0%

Mecca vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.9% more for transportation

	Mecca	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.82	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	+117.3%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$21.66 PKR6,006.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$47,965.95 SAR180K	$54,159.34 PKR15M	+12.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.26 SAR61.00	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	-56.7%
Average			+34.9%

Mecca vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.3% less for housing

	Mecca	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$62.84 SAR235.84	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	-72.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$524.96 SAR1,970.09	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	-48.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$286.20 SAR1,074.05	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	-51.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.94 SAR191.19	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	+53.0%
Average			-42.3%

Mecca vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 82.7% less for childcare

	Mecca	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$760.49 SAR2,854.01	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	-90.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,442.55 SAR61,706.21	$5,015.34 PKR1M	-69.5%
Average			-82.7%

Mecca vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Mecca	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.53 SAR5.75	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	+135.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.60 SAR9.74	$2.65 PKR734.15	+2.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.66 SAR25.00	$2.30 PKR637.64	-65.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$81.01 SAR304.01	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	-65.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.99 SAR45.00	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	-63.9%
Average			-36.2%

Mecca vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.3% more for clothing

	Mecca	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$13.32 SAR50.00	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	+86.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.02 SAR214.00	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	-38.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$39.97 SAR150.01	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	+141.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$53.30 SAR200.01	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	-23.8%
Average			+20.3%

Mecca 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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