Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 49.4% more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 18.0% more in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 28.3% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Islamabad
Housing: pay 91.3% more in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 3.8 times more in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.7% more in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 30.4% more in Islamabad

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

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Islamabad vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.0% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	+39.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	+10.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.34 PKR94.38	-31.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.22 PKR60.62	+20.8%
Average			+18.0%

Thimphu vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.3% less for groceries

	Thimphu	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$0.75 PKR208.08	-30.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$3.07 PKR851.66	+63.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	+19.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$1.24 PKR343.64	-34.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$1.41 PKR390.48	-21.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$0.59 PKR163.19	-48.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.38 PKR106.19	-44.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$0.47 PKR131.67	-34.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.25 PKR68.12	-26.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.13 PKR35.52	-50.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.17 PKR46.29	-46.3%
Average			-28.3%

Thimphu vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Thimphu	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	+83.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	+319.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$54,159.34 PKR15M	+226.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	-46.6%
Average			+136.9%

Thimphu vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 91.3% more for housing

	Thimphu	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	-29.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	+115.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	+62.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	+202.0%
Average			+91.3%

Thimphu vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 3.8 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	+65.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$5,015.34 PKR1M	+781.9%
Average			+282.5%

Thimphu vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	+39.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$2.65 PKR734.15	+107.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$2.30 PKR637.64	-40.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	-39.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	+39.7%
Average			+12.7%

Thimphu vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.4% more for clothing

	Thimphu	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	-50.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	+39.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	+43.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	+191.0%
Average			+30.4%

Thimphu 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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