Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $495 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$495

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Karachi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $495 in Karachi.

Barcelona $2,453
Karachi $495

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $770 in Karachi.

Barcelona $3,509
Karachi $770

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,046 in Karachi.

Barcelona $4,564
Karachi $1,046

Living in Barcelona is roughly 396% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Karachi is 64% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$2.21 PKR 610

695.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$12.87 PKR 3,562

424.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.27 PKR 1,459

156.74%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 PKR 598

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.36 PKR 2,036

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.16 PKR 598

47.69%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.38 PKR 106

665.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.25 PKR 69.3

656.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.90 PKR 248

45.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.52 PKR 143

288.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.20 PKR 331

54.17%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.25 PKR 346

286.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$5.82 PKR 1,611

187.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.11 PKR 860

193.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$6.53 PKR 1,807

200.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.28 PKR 354

132.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.54 PKR 149

274.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.02 PKR 283

164.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.56 PKR 155

400.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.34 PKR 94.9

514.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.31 PKR 87.0

567.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.41 PKR 113

256.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.43 PKR 120

118.60%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.28 PKR 355

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 PKR 368

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 PKR 678

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$1.78 PKR 492

285.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.28 PKR 77.1

1021.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$11.70 PKR 3,237

117.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.92 PKR 254

225.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.73 PKR 203

104.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$2.22 PKR 615

1403.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.33 PKR 369

35.34%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$18.3K PKR 5.1M

81.80%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

20.16%

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

$180 €162

$112 PKR 31.0K

60.84%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$5.99 PKR 1,656

131.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$13.18 PKR 3,648

155.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$24.67 PKR 6,825

108.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$18.29 PKR 5,061

-12.74%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$4.34 PKR 1,201

153.23%

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

$917 €821

$67.2 PKR 18.6K

1264.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$1,915 PKR 529.8K

760.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$17.61 PKR 4,873

394.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$22.03 PKR 6,096

74.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$68.3 PKR 18.9K

54.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$40.66 PKR 11.3K

194.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$136 PKR 37.6K

1149.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$82.2 PKR 22.7K

1549.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$392 PKR 108.5K

563.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$207 PKR 57.2K

897.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$1,046 PKR 289.5K

560.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$482 PKR 133.2K

964.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$184 PKR 51.0K

1098.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

13.21

-75.17%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Karachi

$82 16.6% 93.9% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Karachi

$102 20.5% 68.4% $220

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Karachi

$62 12.5% 76.9% $206

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Karachi

$131 26.6% 42.4% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Karachi

$67 13.5% 57.7% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Karachi

$33 6.7% 54.6% $40

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Karachi

$17 3.5% 64.1% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $136 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 12 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $13 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $102 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

02:02 2:02 AM

06:02 6:02 AM

4 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 309 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Barcelona Karachi 6,160 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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

Barcelona vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $495 in Karachi, so Karachi is about 80% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 12 times higher, 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $136 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $67 in Karachi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 217% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $495 in Karachi versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Karachi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 80% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.