Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lalitpur and Islamabad

For one person, living is cheaper in Lalitpur: $452 a month against $599 in Islamabad, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Lalitpur
Learn more

Lalitpur Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Islamabad
Learn more

Islamabad Living Index

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Lalitpur

🇳🇵 Nepal

$452

/mo nomad

Islamabad

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lalitpur and in Islamabad

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lalitpur and in Islamabad actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $452 per month in Lalitpur vs $599 in Islamabad, rent included.

Lalitpur $452
Islamabad $599

A couple spends around $823 per month in Lalitpur vs $930 in Islamabad, rent included.

Lalitpur $823
Islamabad $930

A family of three spends $1,193 per month in Lalitpur vs $1,261 in Islamabad, rent included.

Lalitpur $1,193
Islamabad $1,261

Lalitpur is about 25% cheaper than Islamabad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Lalitpur and Islamabad are more affordable than the global median – Lalitpur 67% lower, Islamabad 56% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.92 NPR 292

$3.63 PKR 1,004

-47.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.80 NPR 3,008

$23.40 PKR 6,478

-15.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.35 NPR 964

$5.54 PKR 1,534

14.62%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.57 PKR 987

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.73 PKR 1,864

Cappuccino

$1.52 NPR 231

$2.64 PKR 730

-42.42%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 NPR 42.49

$0.32 PKR 89.6

-12.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 NPR 19.89

$0.23 PKR 63.7

-43.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.75 NPR 266

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 NPR 367

Milk (1 liter)

$0.76 NPR 116

$0.94 PKR 259

-19.15%

White Bread (500g)

$0.58 NPR 88.7

$0.72 PKR 200

-19.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.92 NPR 139

$1.30 PKR 361

-29.23%

Eggs

$1.73 NPR 264

$1.22 PKR 339

41.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.53 NPR 1,144

$6.05 PKR 1,674

24.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.15 NPR 479

$3.09 PKR 855

1.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.98 NPR 909

$5.35 PKR 1,482

11.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 NPR 304

$1.26 PKR 350

58.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.14 NPR 173

$0.87 PKR 241

31.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 NPR 216

$1.04 PKR 288

36.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.54 NPR 81.9

$0.53 PKR 146

1.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 NPR 63.4

$0.29 PKR 81.2

44.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.54 NPR 81.6

$0.36 PKR 99.4

50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 NPR 69.8

$0.28 PKR 76.4

64.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 NPR 36.68

$0.39 PKR 108

-38.46%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.95 PKR 539

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 PKR 331

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 PKR 743

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.50 NPR 380

$2.24 PKR 619

11.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.93 NPR 1,205

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 NPR 348

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 NPR 464

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 NPR 27.32

$0.16 PKR 43.07

12.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.34 PKR 5,905

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.76 NPR 267

$1.24 PKR 344

41.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 NPR 173

$0.74 PKR 204

54.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 NPR 501

$1.60 PKR 442

106.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 NPR 169

$1.37 PKR 378

-18.98%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$29.4K NPR 4.5M

$54.5K PKR 15.1M

-45.98%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$36.9K NPR 5.6M

$23.9K PKR 6.6M

54.46%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$31.42 NPR 4,774

$103 PKR 28.6K

-69.57%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$3.50 NPR 531

$5.99 PKR 1,658

-41.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.92 NPR 1,356

$17.15 PKR 4,746

-47.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.00 NPR 5,014

$28.20 PKR 7,806

17.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.97 NPR 1,515

$8.47 PKR 2,344

17.71%

Cinema Ticket

$2.93 NPR 445

$4.43 PKR 1,226

-33.86%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$64.7 NPR 9,836

$75.7 PKR 20.9K

-14.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,709 NPR 411.6K

$5,004 PKR 1.4M

-45.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$24.84 NPR 3,775

$25.72 PKR 7,118

-3.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.67 NPR 2,989

$34.48 PKR 9,543

-42.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.7 NPR 9,681

$95.5 PKR 26.4K

-33.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$28.54 NPR 4,337

$41.32 PKR 11.4K

-30.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$162 NPR 24.5K

$276 PKR 76.5K

-41.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$85.6 NPR 13.0K

$139 PKR 38.3K

-38.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$498 NPR 75.7K

$572 PKR 158.2K

-12.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$350 NPR 53.1K

$270 PKR 74.9K

29.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,629 PKR 450.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$836 PKR 231.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$380 PKR 105.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.72

13.08

-25.69%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lalitpur: October 12, 2026

Last update for Islamabad: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Lalitpur

$146 32.3%

Islamabad

$102 17% 30.1% $44

Accommodation & Living

Lalitpur

$86 19%

Islamabad

$139 23.1% 61.8% $53

Eating Out

Lalitpur

$68 15%

Islamabad

$80 13.3% 17.2% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Lalitpur

$62 13.6%

Islamabad

$89 14.8% 44.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lalitpur

$44 9.7%

Islamabad

$126 21.1% 188% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Lalitpur

$39 8.6%

Islamabad

$37 6.2% 4.6% $1.8

Getting Around

Lalitpur

$8.2 * 1.8%

Islamabad

$27 4.5% 229% $19

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $162 in Lalitpur versus $276 in Islamabad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20.00 in Lalitpur versus $23.00 in Islamabad. Groceries tell a different story – $146 in Lalitpur vs $102 in Islamabad – so Islamabad wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇳🇵 Lalitpur

🇵🇰 Islamabad

🕒 Local time

06:17 6:17 AM

05:32 5:32 AM

45 min behind Lalitpur

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

254,000

1,009,832 Capital

💱 Currency

Nepalese Rupee NPR रु

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 NPR = 6.58 USD

1,000 NPR = 5.85 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to NPR – Nepalese Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇵 Nepalese Rupee (रु)

Nepalese Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 152 NPR (1,000 NPR = 6.58 USD). 1 EUR = 171 NPR (1,000 NPR = 5.85 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

USD to NPR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lalitpur Islamabad 1,350 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lalitpur
Islamabad

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lalitpur vs Islamabad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Islamabad is pricier by about 33%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $678 per month in Lalitpur and $899 in Islamabad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lalitpur, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20.00 in Lalitpur and $23.00 in Islamabad. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 43% cheaper in Islamabad – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $452 in Lalitpur and $599 in Islamabad, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Lalitpur – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Lalitpur. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Islamabad makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.