Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Islamabad

For one person, living is cheaper in Islamabad: $613 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $41,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Islamabad
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Islamabad Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Islamabad

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$613

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London 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 London and in Islamabad actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $613 in Islamabad, rent included.

London $4,086
Islamabad $613

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $951 in Islamabad, rent included.

London $5,816
Islamabad $951

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $1,289 in Islamabad, rent included.

London $7,546
Islamabad $1,289

London costs about 567% more than Islamabad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 205% above the global median, while Islamabad is 54% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$3.55 PKR 983

649.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$23.32 PKR 6,453

361.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$5.50 PKR 1,522

88.91%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.51 PKR 971

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.05 PKR 1,950

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.72 PKR 753

112.87%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.35 PKR 97.4

760.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.23 PKR 63.8

834.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.99 PKR 273

80.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.73 PKR 201

182.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.24 PKR 342

86.29%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.31 PKR 363

285.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$6.12 PKR 1,695

105.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$3.23 PKR 893

230.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$5.44 PKR 1,506

214.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.35 PKR 375

124.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.86 PKR 239

63.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.08 PKR 298

182.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$0.55 PKR 153

514.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.28 PKR 78.3

496.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.36 PKR 98.6

380.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.30 PKR 83.5

370.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.42 PKR 115

326.19%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.98 PKR 549

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 PKR 347

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 PKR 715

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$2.32 PKR 642

900.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.20 PKR 54.5

1835.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$21.45 PKR 5,936

1065.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$1.23 PKR 339

364.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.75 PKR 209

344.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$1.64 PKR 454

3431.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.39 PKR 385

46.76%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$53.8K PKR 14.9M

-30.23%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$24.0K PKR 6.6M

70.46%

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

$376 £284

$103 PKR 28.5K

265.63%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$5.76 PKR 1,594

210.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$16.49 PKR 4,565

142.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$29.77 PKR 8,240

105.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$8.62 PKR 2,386

144.43%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$4.45 PKR 1,233

303.37%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$74.5 PKR 20.6K

3746.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$5,023 PKR 1.4M

603.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$24.55 PKR 6,793

372.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$34.19 PKR 9,461

58.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$96.0 PKR 26.6K

31.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$40.93 PKR 11.3K

289.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$272 PKR 75.2K

949.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$137 PKR 38.0K

1574.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$572 PKR 158.4K

808.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$275 PKR 76.0K

1255.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$1,677 PKR 464.1K

1033.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$820 PKR 227.0K

860.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$379 PKR 104.8K

1171.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

13.08

-64.45%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Islamabad: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Islamabad

$137 22.9% 94% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Islamabad

$125 20.8% 71.2% $309

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Islamabad

$80 13.3% 79.9% $317

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Islamabad

$105 17.5% 70% $244

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Islamabad

$27 4.5% 90.5% $261

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Islamabad

$88 14.6% 57.1% $117

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Islamabad

$39 6.4% 60.1% $58

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $272 in Islamabad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1172% higher in London, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London versus $23.00 in Islamabad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $105 – making Islamabad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇵🇰 Islamabad

🕒 Local time

08:44 8:44 AM

12:44 12:44 PM

4 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,009,832 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Islamabad 6,030 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

London
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

London vs Islamabad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – London is pricier by about 567%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $919 in Islamabad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 233% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London and $23.00 in Islamabad. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Islamabad, where all-in costs run around $613, than in London at $4,086. In Islamabad it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Islamabad – 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 Islamabad. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.