Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rawalpindi and Peshawar

For one person, living is cheaper in Rawalpindi: $504 a month against $525 in Peshawar, rent and utilities included – about $250 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Peshawar outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

24

Cost of Living Index in Rawalpindi
Learn more

Rawalpindi Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Peshawar
Learn more

Peshawar Living Index

Jump to prices

Rawalpindi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$504

/mo nomad

Peshawar

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rawalpindi and in Peshawar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $504 in Rawalpindi versus $525 in Peshawar.

Rawalpindi $504
Peshawar $525

Estimated couple costs with rent: $787 in Rawalpindi versus $716 in Peshawar.

Rawalpindi $787
Peshawar $716

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,069 in Rawalpindi versus $906 in Peshawar.

Rawalpindi $1,069
Peshawar $906

Living in Rawalpindi costs roughly 4% less than in Peshawar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rawalpindi 63% lower, Peshawar 61% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.11 PKR 584

$2.50 PKR 690

-15.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.10 PKR 4,450

$9.15 PKR 2,528

75.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.07 PKR 1,678

$5.35 PKR 1,478

13.46%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 PKR 491

$2.21 PKR 612

-19.46%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 PKR 962

$2.92 PKR 806

19.18%

Cappuccino

$2.01 PKR 555

$2.63 PKR 727

-23.57%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.34 PKR 95.0

17.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 PKR 63.1

$0.18 PKR 49.24

27.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 PKR 240

$1.01 PKR 278

-13.86%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 PKR 162

$0.73 PKR 203

-19.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 PKR 336

$1.06 PKR 293

14.15%

Eggs

$1.10 PKR 303

$1.11 PKR 308

-0.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.25 PKR 1,728

$3.44 PKR 952

81.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.55 PKR 982

$3.18 PKR 880

11.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.94 PKR 1,365

$3.67 PKR 1,016

34.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 PKR 332

$1.19 PKR 328

0.84%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 PKR 241

$0.52 PKR 143

67.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.21 PKR 336

$0.63 PKR 173

92.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 PKR 145

$0.56 PKR 154

-7.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.39 PKR 107

$0.27 PKR 74.5

44.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 PKR 127

$0.34 PKR 94.2

35.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.31 PKR 87.1

$0.28 PKR 76.9

10.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 PKR 110

$0.25 PKR 68.4

60.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$16.44 PKR 4,546

$2.01 PKR 555

717.91%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 PKR 321

$0.74 PKR 205

56.76%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 PKR 666

$0.73 PKR 203

230.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.04 PKR 564

$1.84 PKR 510

10.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 PKR 53.8

$0.19 PKR 53.2

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.06 PKR 2,780

$12.64 PKR 3,494

-20.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 PKR 240

$1.10 PKR 305

-20.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 PKR 95.5

$0.70 PKR 194

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 PKR 859

$1.45 PKR 401

114.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 PKR 342

$1.18 PKR 327

5.08%

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

$19.3K PKR 5.3M

$22.3K PKR 6.2M

-13.47%

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

$23.6K PKR 6.5M

$23.4K PKR 6.5M

0.93%

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

$115 PKR 31.7K

$102 PKR 28.2K

12.49%

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

$5.61 PKR 1,550

$6.10 PKR 1,685

-8.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.35 PKR 5,073

$14.19 PKR 3,923

29.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.01 PKR 3,319

$15.22 PKR 4,207

-21.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.28 PKR 2,014

$6.14 PKR 1,697

18.57%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 PKR 1,174

$1.95 PKR 540

117.95%

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

$48.77 PKR 13.5K

$47.01 PKR 13.0K

3.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,056 PKR 292.0K

$5,087 PKR 1.4M

-79.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.54 PKR 4,848

$7.38 PKR 2,040

137.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.61 PKR 9,014

$16.03 PKR 4,432

103.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 PKR 25.9K

$51.2 PKR 14.1K

83.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.98 PKR 9,947

$40.31 PKR 11.1K

-10.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$183 PKR 50.5K

$229 PKR 63.2K

-20.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$87.2 PKR 24.1K

$161 PKR 44.6K

-45.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$396 PKR 109.4K

$263 PKR 72.8K

50.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$221 PKR 61.2K

$197 PKR 54.4K

12.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,007 PKR 278.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$434 PKR 120.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$174 PKR 48.0K

$147 PKR 40.7K

18.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

22.81

107.36%

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

Last update for Rawalpindi: October 24, 2026

Last update for Peshawar: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rawalpindi

$139 27.5%

Peshawar

$122 23.3% 11.8% $16

Groceries & Markets

Rawalpindi

$102 20.2%

Peshawar

$83 15.9% 18.3% $19

Accommodation & Living

Rawalpindi

$87 17.3%

Peshawar

$161 30.7% 85.1% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Rawalpindi

$81 16%

Peshawar

$52 9.8% 36.1% $29

Eating Out

Rawalpindi

$62 12.2%

Peshawar

$70 13.3% 12.8% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Rawalpindi

$21 4.1%

Peshawar

$19 3.6% 6.7% $1.4

Getting Around

Rawalpindi

$13 2.7%

Peshawar

$18 3.4% 34.3% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $183 in Rawalpindi and $229 in Peshawar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rawalpindi pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $16 in Rawalpindi vs $9 in Peshawar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $102 vs $83 per month, with Peshawar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Rawalpindi

🇵🇰 Peshawar

🕒 Local time

13:01 1:01 PM

Same time as Rawalpindi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,098,231

1,970,042

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.62 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.62 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rawalpindi Peshawar 140 km

From you

Rawalpindi
Peshawar

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

Rawalpindi vs Peshawar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rawalpindi wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Peshawar. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Rawalpindi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Rawalpindi, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $183 in Rawalpindi versus $229 in Peshawar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $504 per month in Rawalpindi versus $525 in Peshawar – Rawalpindi is about 4% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Rawalpindi runs roughly 20% less than in Peshawar. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Rawalpindi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.