Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Douliu and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $1,138 in Douliu, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Douliu
🇹🇼 Taiwan
$1,138
/mo nomad
Karachi
🇵🇰 Pakistan
$482
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,138 per month in Douliu vs $482 in Karachi, rent included.

  • Douliu $1,138
  • Karachi $482

A couple spends around $1,894 per month in Douliu vs $750 in Karachi, rent included.

  • Douliu $1,894
  • Karachi $750

A family of three spends $2,650 per month in Douliu vs $1,018 in Karachi, rent included.

  • Douliu $2,650
  • Karachi $1,018

Douliu costs about 136% more than Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Douliu and Karachi are more affordable than the global median – Douliu 16% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.85 NT$125
$2.13 PKR 588
80.75%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$22.40 NT$726
$13.30 PKR 3,680
68.42%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.81 NT$189
$5.45 PKR 1,508
6.61%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$2.19 PKR 607
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$7.24 PKR 2,005
-
Cappuccino
$3.40 NT$110
$2.09 PKR 579
62.68%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.94 NT$30.58
$0.40 PKR 111
135.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.67 NT$21.86
$0.26 PKR 71.1
157.69%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.79 NT$90.4
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.73 NT$121
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$3.09 NT$100
$0.92 PKR 254
235.87%
White Bread (500g)
$2.01 NT$65.1
$0.56 PKR 156
258.93%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.17 NT$103
$1.25 PKR 345
153.60%
Eggs
$2.76 NT$89.4
$1.23 PKR 341
124.39%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.44 NT$631
$5.67 PKR 1,570
242.86%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.97 NT$323
$3.16 PKR 876
215.51%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$21.44 NT$695
$6.28 PKR 1,737
241.40%
Apples (1kg)
$4.79 NT$155
$1.26 PKR 348
280.16%
Banana (1kg)
$3.29 NT$107
$0.53 PKR 148
520.75%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.08 NT$99.9
$1.00 PKR 276
208.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.34 NT$141
$0.56 PKR 154
675.00%
Potato (1kg)
$2.82 NT$91.3
$0.33 PKR 91.4
754.55%
Onion (1kg)
$2.34 NT$75.9
$0.34 PKR 95.1
588.24%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.71 NT$55.6
$0.42 PKR 116
307.14%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.10 NT$35.65
$0.44 PKR 121
150.00%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$1.25 PKR 346
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.32 PKR 365
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.42 PKR 670
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.85 NT$125
$1.84 PKR 509
109.24%
Wine (Bottle)
$14.46 NT$469
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.63 NT$52.9
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.31 NT$75.0
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.61 NT$19.89
$0.28 PKR 77.0
117.86%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$35.53 NT$1,152
$9.99 PKR 2,764
255.66%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.66 NT$86.3
$0.92 PKR 256
189.13%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.77 NT$24.82
$0.70 PKR 193
10.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$9.46 NT$307
$2.16 PKR 597
337.96%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.03 NT$33.56
$1.38 PKR 382
-25.36%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.0K NT$1.1M
$17.9K PKR 5.0M
89.91%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.0K NT$777.6K
$27.1K PKR 7.5M
-11.46%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$86.6 NT$2,807
$113 PKR 31.4K
-23.71%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$17.15 NT$556
$5.95 PKR 1,648
188.24%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.79 NT$901
$13.16 PKR 3,642
111.17%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$36.37 NT$1,179
$21.55 PKR 5,965
68.77%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$18.23 PKR 5,044
-
Cinema Ticket
$9.54 NT$309
$4.21 PKR 1,165
126.60%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$663 NT$21.5K
$52.2 PKR 14.4K
1171.37%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$17.0K NT$550.7K
$1,940 PKR 537.0K
775.21%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$64.5 NT$2,091
$17.55 PKR 4,858
267.41%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$40.75 NT$1,321
$23.51 PKR 6,506
73.33%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$85.0 NT$2,756
$68.9 PKR 19.1K
23.39%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$105 NT$3,408
$40.59 PKR 11.2K
158.93%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$404 NT$13.1K
$118 PKR 32.7K
242.52%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$257 NT$8,334
$73.6 PKR 20.4K
249.15%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$982 NT$31.8K
$357 PKR 98.9K
174.59%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$730 NT$23.7K
$188 PKR 52.0K
288.44%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,836 NT$254.1K
$1,060 PKR 293.4K
639.18%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,924 NT$159.7K
$481 PKR 133.1K
924.16%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Douliu
Karachi
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,544 NT$82.5K
$183 PKR 50.6K
1290.88%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
2.4
13.21
-81.83%

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

Last update for Douliu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Douliu
$400
Karachi
$101 74.7% $299
Accommodation & Living
Douliu
$257
Karachi
$74 71.4% $183
Clothing & Footwear
Douliu
$133
Karachi
$68 49% $65
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Douliu
$132
Karachi
$133 0.8% $1.1
Eating Out
Douliu
$117
Karachi
$61 47.7% $56
Sport & Entertainment
Douliu
$55
Karachi
$30 45.9% $25
Getting Around
Douliu
$44
Karachi
$16 65.1% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $404 in Douliu versus $118 in Karachi. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1291% higher in Douliu, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $22.00 in Douliu versus $13.00 in Karachi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $400 vs $101 – making Karachi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇹🇼 Douliu
🇵🇰 Karachi
🕒 Local time
08:48 8:48 AM
05:48 5:48 AM
3 h behind Douliu
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
108,401
14,910,352
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Douliu Karachi 5,390 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Douliu
  • 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
Douliu vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Douliu or Karachi?
Douliu costs about 136% more than Karachi, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Douliu and in Karachi?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,707 per month in Douliu and $723 in Karachi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Douliu or Karachi?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Karachi, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
How do dining costs compare in Douliu and in Karachi?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $22.00 in Douliu and $13.00 in Karachi. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
How much does it cost to live in Douliu compared to Karachi?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,138 in Douliu and $482 in Karachi. That's a gap of about 136%.
Can you live on $2,000/month in Douliu or in Karachi?
A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Karachi, where all-in costs run around $482, than in Douliu at $1,138. In Karachi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Douliu it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city is better for families?
Families tend to lean toward Karachi – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
How safe is Douliu compared to Karachi?
Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.
Should I move to Douliu or to Karachi?
If budget matters most, go with Karachi. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Douliu makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

Douliu vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?