Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Faisalabad and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Faisalabad: $398 a month against $482 in Karachi, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in Faisalabad
Learn more

Faisalabad Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index

Jump to prices

Faisalabad

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$398

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $398 per month in Faisalabad vs $482 in Karachi, rent included.

Faisalabad $398
Karachi $482

A couple spends around $620 per month in Faisalabad vs $750 in Karachi, rent included.

Faisalabad $620
Karachi $750

A family of three spends $841 per month in Faisalabad vs $1,018 in Karachi, rent included.

Faisalabad $841
Karachi $1,018

Faisalabad is about 17% cheaper than Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Faisalabad and Karachi are more affordable than the global median – Faisalabad 70% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.85 PKR 511

$2.13 PKR 588

-13.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.80 PKR 2,989

$13.30 PKR 3,680

-18.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.29 PKR 1,465

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-2.94%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.46 PKR 680

$2.19 PKR 607

12.33%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 PKR 605

$7.24 PKR 2,005

-69.75%

Cappuccino

$1.52 PKR 420

$2.09 PKR 579

-27.27%

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

$0.43 PKR 120

$0.40 PKR 111

7.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 PKR 81.7

$0.26 PKR 71.1

15.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 PKR 225

$0.92 PKR 254

-11.96%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 PKR 179

$0.56 PKR 156

16.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 349

$1.25 PKR 345

0.80%

Eggs

$1.25 PKR 346

$1.23 PKR 341

1.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.53 PKR 2,362

$5.67 PKR 1,570

50.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.59 PKR 716

$3.16 PKR 876

-18.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.96 PKR 1,096

$6.28 PKR 1,737

-36.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.10 PKR 304

$1.26 PKR 348

-12.70%

Banana (1kg)

$0.65 PKR 181

$0.53 PKR 148

22.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.58 PKR 159

$1.00 PKR 276

-42.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.59 PKR 164

$0.56 PKR 154

5.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.30 PKR 83.6

$0.33 PKR 91.4

-9.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 PKR 130

$0.34 PKR 95.1

38.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 PKR 172

$0.42 PKR 116

47.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 122

$0.44 PKR 121

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.55 PKR 152

$1.25 PKR 346

-56.00%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 PKR 143

$1.32 PKR 365

-60.61%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 PKR 194

$2.42 PKR 670

-71.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.40 PKR 389

$1.84 PKR 509

-23.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 77.0

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.08 PKR 1,958

$9.99 PKR 2,764

-29.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.05 PKR 292

$0.92 PKR 256

14.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 PKR 295

$0.70 PKR 193

51.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 PKR 785

$2.16 PKR 597

31.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 PKR 324

$1.38 PKR 382

-15.22%

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

$23.8K PKR 6.6M

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

33.23%

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

$23.2K PKR 6.4M

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-14.22%

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

$68.6 PKR 19.0K

$113 PKR 31.4K

-39.58%

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

$7.88 PKR 2,181

$5.95 PKR 1,648

32.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.57 PKR 3,203

$13.16 PKR 3,642

-12.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.39 PKR 3,982

$21.55 PKR 5,965

-33.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.78 PKR 4,920

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-2.47%

Cinema Ticket

$7.17 PKR 1,983

$4.21 PKR 1,165

70.31%

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

$26.99 PKR 7,470

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

-48.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,046 PKR 566.4K

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

5.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.01 PKR 5,263

$17.55 PKR 4,858

8.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.58 PKR 7,358

$23.51 PKR 6,506

13.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.6 PKR 14.8K

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

-22.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$30.28 PKR 8,380

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

-25.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$110 PKR 30.3K

$118 PKR 32.7K

-7.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$58.8 PKR 16.3K

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

-20.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$217 PKR 60.0K

$357 PKR 98.9K

-39.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$121 PKR 33.5K

$188 PKR 52.0K

-35.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$543 PKR 150.4K

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

-48.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$251 PKR 69.3K

$481 PKR 133.1K

-47.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 PKR 46.0K

$183 PKR 50.6K

-9.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.83

13.21

-10.45%

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

Last update for Faisalabad: October 11, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Faisalabad

$99 25%

Karachi

$101 21% 1.9% $1.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Faisalabad

$88 22.1%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 50.6% $45

Accommodation & Living

Faisalabad

$59 14.8%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 25.2% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Faisalabad

$58 14.6%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 16.3% $9.5

Eating Out

Faisalabad

$52 13%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 18% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Faisalabad

$29 7.2%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 4.4% $1.3

Getting Around

Faisalabad

$13 * 3.4%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 15.4% $2.1

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $110 in Faisalabad 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 10% higher in Karachi, 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 $11.00 in Faisalabad versus $13.00 in Karachi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $99.0 vs $101 – making Faisalabad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Faisalabad

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

05:43 5:43 AM

Same time as Faisalabad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,203,846

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Faisalabad Karachi 940 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Faisalabad
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

Faisalabad vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi costs about 21% more than Faisalabad, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $598 per month in Faisalabad and $723 in Karachi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Faisalabad, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 2% more in Karachi, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $11.00 in Faisalabad and $13.00 in Karachi. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $398 in Faisalabad and $482 in Karachi, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Faisalabad – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Faisalabad. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Karachi makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.