Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 47.3% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 17.5% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 51.6% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 29.7% more in Islamabad
Housing: pay 63.2% less in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 90.2% less in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.4% less in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 32.3% less in Islamabad

Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Islamabad.

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Islamabad vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 17.5% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	-19.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	+3.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.34 PKR94.38	-43.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.22 PKR60.62	-40.9%
Average			-17.5%

Shanghai vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.6% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.75 PKR208.08	-62.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.07 PKR851.66	-64.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	-47.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$1.24 PKR343.64	-27.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$1.41 PKR390.48	-4.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.59 PKR163.19	-40.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.38 PKR106.19	-50.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.47 PKR131.67	-47.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.25 PKR68.12	-68.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.13 PKR35.52	-64.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.17 PKR46.29	-61.5%
Average			-51.6%

Shanghai vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.7% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	+2.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	-27.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$54,159.34 PKR15M	+179.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	+24.2%
Average			+29.7%

Shanghai vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.2% less for housing

	Shanghai	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	+61.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	-73.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	-76.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	+76.9%
Average			-63.2%

Shanghai vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 90.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	-94.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$5,015.34 PKR1M	-81.9%
Average			-90.2%

Shanghai vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	+202.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.65 PKR734.15	-20.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$2.30 PKR637.64	-38.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	-57.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	-51.6%
Average			-23.4%

Shanghai vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.3% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	-54.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	-6.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	+27.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	-61.6%
Average			-32.3%

Shanghai 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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