Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guilin and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $659 in Guilin, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Guilin
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Guilin Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Guilin

🇨🇳 China

$659

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $659 per month in Guilin vs $482 in Karachi, rent included.

Guilin $659
Karachi $482

A couple spends around $1,058 per month in Guilin vs $750 in Karachi, rent included.

Guilin $1,058
Karachi $750

A family of three spends $1,457 per month in Guilin vs $1,018 in Karachi, rent included.

Guilin $1,457
Karachi $1,018

Guilin costs about 37% more than Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Guilin and Karachi are more affordable than the global median – Guilin 51% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.22 ¥14.85

$2.13 PKR 588

4.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.16 ¥101

$13.30 PKR 3,680

13.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.05 ¥20.39

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-44.04%

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

$2.14 ¥14.32

$2.09 PKR 579

2.39%

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

$0.42 ¥2.81

$0.40 PKR 111

5.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$0.26 PKR 71.1

19.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.81 ¥5.40

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 ¥14.33

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ¥9.77

$0.92 PKR 254

58.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 ¥8.38

$0.56 PKR 156

123.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.62 ¥4.16

$1.25 PKR 345

-50.40%

Eggs

$1.83 ¥12.26

$1.23 PKR 341

48.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.25 ¥88.6

$5.67 PKR 1,570

133.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.42 ¥22.86

$3.16 PKR 876

8.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.19 ¥74.8

$6.28 PKR 1,737

78.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.46 ¥9.74

$1.26 PKR 348

15.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 ¥7.90

$0.53 PKR 148

122.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.04 ¥6.92

$1.00 PKR 276

4.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.28

$0.56 PKR 154

67.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.90

$0.33 PKR 91.4

121.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 ¥5.89

$0.34 PKR 95.1

158.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 ¥4.60

$0.42 PKR 116

64.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.91

$0.44 PKR 121

-2.27%

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)

$3.75 ¥25.10

$1.84 PKR 509

103.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.16 ¥88.0

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥5.63

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 ¥9.67

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$0.28 PKR 77.0

3.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.97 ¥120

$9.99 PKR 2,764

79.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.31 ¥8.73

$0.92 PKR 256

42.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.94

$0.70 PKR 193

-58.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.79 ¥52.1

$2.16 PKR 597

260.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 ¥8.10

$1.38 PKR 382

-12.32%

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

$19.2K ¥128.5K

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

7.40%

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

$17.4K ¥116.4K

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-35.70%

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

$24.59 ¥164

$113 PKR 31.4K

-78.33%

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

$4.89 ¥32.69

$5.95 PKR 1,648

-17.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.49 ¥76.8

$13.16 PKR 3,642

-12.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.59 ¥278

$21.55 PKR 5,965

92.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.65 ¥98.0

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-19.64%

Cinema Ticket

$5.33 ¥35.63

$4.21 PKR 1,165

26.60%

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

$407 ¥2,719

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

679.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K ¥105.5K

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

713.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.52 ¥291

$17.55 PKR 4,858

147.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.64 ¥212

$23.51 PKR 6,506

34.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.2 ¥503

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

9.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.2 ¥496

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

82.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,967

$118 PKR 32.7K

149.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$183 ¥1,226

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

149.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 ¥4,173

$357 PKR 98.9K

74.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 ¥2,486

$188 PKR 52.0K

97.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,334 ¥8,916

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

25.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,980 ¥13.2K

$481 PKR 133.1K

311.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$497 ¥3,322

$183 PKR 50.6K

171.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

13.21

-74.56%

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

Last update for Guilin: 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

Guilin

$196 29.7%

Karachi

$101 21% 48.3% $95

Accommodation & Living

Guilin

$183 27.8%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 59.9% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Guilin

$101 15.3%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 33% $33

Eating Out

Guilin

$64 9.7%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 4.4% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Guilin

$52 7.9%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 42.6% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guilin

$41 6.2%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 224% $92

Getting Around

Guilin

$22 3.3%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 29% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $294 in Guilin 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 172% higher in Guilin, 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 $15.00 in Guilin versus $13.00 in Karachi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $196 vs $101 – making Karachi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Guilin

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

14:05 2:05 PM

3 h behind Guilin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,931,137

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 →

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Between locations

Guilin Karachi 4,340 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Guilin
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

Guilin vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Guilin is pricier by about 37%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $989 per month in Guilin 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 Karachi, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15.00 in Guilin and $13.00 in Karachi. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $659 in Guilin and $482 in Karachi. That's a gap of about 37%.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $659 in Guilin and $482 in Karachi, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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.

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