Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Datong and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $483 a month against $715 in Datong, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Datong
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Datong Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Datong

🇨🇳 China

$715

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$483

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $715 in Datong versus $483 in Karachi.

Datong $715
Karachi $483

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,133 in Datong versus $754 in Karachi.

Datong $1,133
Karachi $754

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,551 in Datong versus $1,025 in Karachi.

Datong $1,551
Karachi $1,025

Living in Datong is roughly 48% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Datong 47% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.77 ¥18.50

$2.11 PKR 585

31.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.44 ¥143

$13.73 PKR 3,801

56.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.93 ¥32.98

$5.53 PKR 1,531

-10.85%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 PKR 609

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.37 PKR 2,040

Cappuccino

$3.05 ¥20.42

$2.14 PKR 593

42.52%

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

$0.47 ¥3.11

$0.40 PKR 111

17.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$0.28 PKR 77.7

-3.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.94 ¥6.31

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ¥13.76

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 ¥12.16

$0.90 PKR 250

102.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 ¥10.80

$0.55 PKR 153

194.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.92

$1.20 PKR 333

-25.83%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥10.36

$1.25 PKR 346

24.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.59 ¥84.2

$5.96 PKR 1,650

111.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.23 ¥21.62

$3.19 PKR 883

1.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.12 ¥67.7

$6.48 PKR 1,793

56.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 ¥12.52

$1.24 PKR 344

50.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ¥8.39

$0.53 PKR 147

137.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 ¥9.83

$1.03 PKR 284

42.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ¥7.68

$0.51 PKR 142

125.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.89

$0.31 PKR 85.1

135.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.13

$0.31 PKR 87.1

196.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.77

$0.41 PKR 113

36.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ¥3.44

$0.44 PKR 120

15.91%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.31 PKR 362

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 PKR 369

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 PKR 670

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.17 ¥21.22

$1.83 PKR 508

73.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.71 ¥71.6

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥5.29

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.69

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$0.28 PKR 76.8

-3.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.82 ¥112

$9.81 PKR 2,716

71.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 ¥9.48

$0.87 PKR 240

63.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 ¥2.19

$0.74 PKR 204

-55.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.87 ¥45.96

$2.23 PKR 617

208.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 ¥7.83

$1.38 PKR 383

-15.22%

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

$19.4K ¥129.6K

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

5.63%

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

$17.4K ¥116.3K

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

-34.22%

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

$44.62 ¥298

$113 PKR 31.4K

-60.61%

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

$9.53 ¥63.7

$6.12 PKR 1,694

55.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.92 ¥79.7

$13.11 PKR 3,628

-9.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.32 ¥283

$21.78 PKR 6,029

94.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.88 ¥92.8

$18.27 PKR 5,058

-24.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.84 ¥39.05

$4.26 PKR 1,179

37.09%

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

$329 ¥2,198

$52.1 PKR 14.4K

531.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K ¥110.5K

$1,941 PKR 537.3K

751.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.27 ¥296

$17.53 PKR 4,852

152.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.48 ¥204

$22.88 PKR 6,332

33.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ¥478

$68.1 PKR 18.8K

4.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.7 ¥473

$41.55 PKR 11.5K

70.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$283 ¥1,890

$118 PKR 32.5K

140.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$193 ¥1,289

$73.2 PKR 20.3K

163.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$598 ¥3,999

$360 PKR 99.6K

66.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 ¥2,424

$188 PKR 52.1K

92.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,069 ¥20.5K

$1,082 PKR 299.4K

183.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,036 ¥13.6K

$474 PKR 131.2K

329.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$182 PKR 50.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

13.21

-70.55%

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

Last update for Datong: October 18, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Datong

$198 27.7%

Karachi

$102 21.1% 48.4% $96

Accommodation & Living

Datong

$193 27%

Karachi

$73 15.2% 62% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Datong

$98 13.7%

Karachi

$68 14% 30.8% $30

Eating Out

Datong

$85 11.9%

Karachi

$62 12.8% 27.4% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Datong

$66 9.2%

Karachi

$133 27.4% 101% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Datong

$54 7.6%

Karachi

$30 6.3% 43.9% $24

Getting Around

Datong

$21 2.9%

Karachi

$15 3.2% 26.1% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $283 in Datong and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21.00 in Datong vs $14.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $102 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Datong

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

06:36 6:36 AM

03:36 3:36 AM

3 h behind Datong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,318,057

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Datong Karachi 4,600 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Datong
Karachi

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

Datong vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi wins on cost – living expenses run 48% lower than in Datong. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Karachi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,072 in Datong and $725 in Karachi to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $283 in Datong versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $329 in Datong versus $52.1 in Karachi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 94% higher in Datong. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Karachi 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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Datong. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.