Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Peshawar and Arak

For one person, living is cheaper in Arak: $480 a month against $525 in Peshawar, rent and utilities included – about $540 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Peshawar
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Peshawar Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Arak
Learn more

Arak Living Index

Jump to prices

Peshawar

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$525

/mo nomad

Arak

🇮🇷 Iran

$480

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Peshawar and in Arak

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $525 in Peshawar versus $480 in Arak.

Peshawar $525
Arak $480

Estimated couple costs with rent: $716 in Peshawar versus $755 in Arak.

Peshawar $716
Arak $755

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $906 in Peshawar versus $1,030 in Arak.

Peshawar $906
Arak $1,030

Living in Peshawar is roughly 10% more expensive than in Arak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Peshawar 61% lower, Arak 65% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.50 PKR 691

$3.55 $3.55

-29.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$9.15 PKR 2,531

$12.88 $12.88

-28.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.35 PKR 1,480

$4.09 $4.09

30.81%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.21 PKR 612

$0.73 $0.73

202.74%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 PKR 807

$0.57 $0.57

412.28%

Cappuccino

$2.63 PKR 728

$1.33 $1.33

97.74%

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

$0.34 PKR 95.0

$0.51 $0.51

-33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 PKR 49.29

$1.66 $1.66

-89.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 PKR 278

$0.54 $0.54

87.04%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 PKR 203

$0.58 $0.58

25.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 PKR 293

$1.96 $1.96

-45.92%

Eggs

$1.11 PKR 308

$1.28 $1.28

-13.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.44 PKR 953

$2.14 $2.14

60.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.18 PKR 881

$2.53 $2.53

25.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.67 PKR 1,017

$10.31 $10.31

-64.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.19 PKR 329

$0.77 $0.77

54.55%

Banana (1kg)

$0.52 PKR 143

$0.94 $0.94

-44.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 PKR 173

$0.63 $0.63

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 154

$0.48 $0.48

16.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.27 PKR 74.5

$0.42 $0.42

-35.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 94.3

$0.44 $0.44

-22.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.28 PKR 77.0

$0.48 $0.48

-41.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.25 PKR 68.5

$0.28 $0.28

-10.71%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.01 PKR 556

$0.76 $0.76

164.47%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 PKR 205

$0.55 $0.55

34.55%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 PKR 203

$2.17 $2.17

-66.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.84 PKR 510

$2.52 $2.52

-26.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 PKR 53.3

$0.10 $0.10

90.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 PKR 3,498

$9.70 $9.70

30.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 PKR 305

$0.25 $0.25

340.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 PKR 195

$0.12 $0.12

483.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.45 PKR 402

$1.02 $1.02

42.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 PKR 327

$0.10 $0.10

1080.00%

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

$22.3K PKR 6.2M

$50.3K $50.3K

-55.76%

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

$23.4K PKR 6.5M

$35.0K $35.0K

-33.02%

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

$102 PKR 28.2K

$10.03 $10.03

916.05%

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

$6.10 PKR 1,687

$1.43 $1.43

326.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.19 PKR 3,926

$4.01 $4.01

253.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.22 PKR 4,211

$9.93 $9.93

53.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.14 PKR 1,699

$24.64 $24.64

-75.08%

Cinema Ticket

$1.95 PKR 541

$1.11 $1.11

75.68%

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

$47.01 PKR 13.0K

$83.3 $83.3

-43.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,087 PKR 1.4M

$2,372 $2,372

114.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$7.38 PKR 2,042

$13.59 $13.59

-45.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.03 PKR 4,437

$8.51 $8.51

88.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.2 PKR 14.2K

$81.9 $81.9

-37.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.31 PKR 11.2K

$52.1 $52.1

-22.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$229 PKR 63.3K

$294 $294

-22.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$161 PKR 44.6K

$210 $210

-23.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$263 PKR 72.8K

$781 $781

-66.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$197 PKR 54.4K

$357 $357

-44.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,369 $1,369

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$647 $647

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$147 PKR 40.7K

$375 $375

-60.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

18.5

-40.54%

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

Last update for Peshawar: October 25, 2026

Last update for Arak: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Peshawar

$161 30.7%

Arak

$210 43.7% 29.9% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Peshawar

$122 23.3%

Arak

$15 3.2% 87.3% $107

Groceries & Markets

Peshawar

$83 15.9%

Arak

$96 20% 15.3% $13

Eating Out

Peshawar

$70 13.3%

Arak

$65 13.6% 6.3% $4.4

Clothing & Footwear

Peshawar

$52 9.8%

Arak

$70 14.6% 35.8% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Peshawar

$19 3.6%

Arak

$12 2.5% 36.5% $7

Getting Around

Peshawar

$18 3.4%

Arak

$11 2.3% 39.2% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $229 in Peshawar and $294 in Arak. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arak pays about 2.6 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $9 in Peshawar vs $13 in Arak for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $83 vs $96 per month, with Peshawar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Peshawar

🇮🇷 Arak

🕒 Local time

01:56 1:56 AM

00:26 12:26 AM

1 h 30 min behind Peshawar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,970,042

526,200

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

USD USD

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.25 EUR

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 308 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.25 EUR).

USD exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Peshawar Arak 2,010 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Peshawar
Arak

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

Peshawar vs Arak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arak is about 9% cheaper overall, especially in utilities, transport, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 61% lower in Peshawar. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $229 in Peshawar versus $294 in Arak. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $525 per month in Peshawar versus $480 in Arak – Arak is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Arak runs roughly 23% less than in Peshawar. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Arak gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.