NavoyNostos

Islamabad vs Lahore

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Islamabad edges it, 33 to 31, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Islamabad is stronger on nothing outright; Lahore on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 4.1 of 33 points (scores 33/100)Healthcare: 5.8 of 33 points (scores 46/100)Internet: 4.3 of 33 points (scores 34/100)Visa ease: 5.3 of 33 points (scores 42/100)Getting there & around: 5.9 of 33 points (scores 47/100)Climate: 5.2 of 33 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 33 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 2.3 of 33 points (scores 19/100)33
Islamabad
out of 100

Pakistan's planned capital against the Margalla Hills

Full Islamabad profile →Where to stay in Islamabad →
Safety: 4.1 of 31 points (scores 33/100)Healthcare: 5.8 of 31 points (scores 46/100)Internet: 3.9 of 31 points (scores 31/100)Visa ease: 5.3 of 31 points (scores 42/100)Getting there & around: 5.9 of 31 points (scores 47/100)Climate: 4.2 of 31 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 31 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 2.3 of 31 points (scores 19/100)31
Lahore
out of 100

Pakistan's cultural capital of food, forts and gardens

Full Lahore profile →Where to stay in Lahore →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricIslamabadLahore
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety3333
Healthcare4646
Internet34 ✓31
Visa ease4242
Getting there & around47 ✓47
Climate42 ✓33
Air quality00
Quality of life1919

Cost

MetricIslamabadLahore
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno datano data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricIslamabadLahore
Homicides per 100k4.334.33
Political stability (0–100)31.431.4
UHC service coverage (0–100)5656
Life expectancy66 yrs66 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricIslamabadLahore
Download4.9 Mbps ✓4.1 Mbps
Upload4.3 Mbps ✓3.7 Mbps

Visa

MetricIslamabadLahore
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporteTA required (online, before travel)eTA required (online, before travel)
Entry, EU passporteTA required (online, before travel)eTA required (online, before travel)
Entry, UK passporteTA required (online, before travel)eTA required (online, before travel)

Getting there and around

MetricIslamabadLahore
Non-stop airport destinations42 ✓25
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)23 ✓

Climate and air

MetricIslamabadLahore
Comfortable months per year5 ✓4
Annual mean PM2.585.3 µg/m³ ✓86.1 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Islamabad or Lahore?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Islamabad or Lahore safer?
Islamabad scores higher on safety (33 vs 33), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Islamabad or Lahore?
Islamabad: a measured median of 4.9 Mbps versus 4.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.