Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jambi and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $483 a month against $582 in Jambi, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Jambi
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Jambi Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Jambi

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$582

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$483

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $582 in Jambi versus $483 in Karachi.

Jambi $582
Karachi $483

Estimated couple costs with rent: $920 in Jambi versus $754 in Karachi.

Jambi $920
Karachi $754

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,258 in Jambi versus $1,025 in Karachi.

Jambi $1,258
Karachi $1,025

Living in Jambi is roughly 20% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Jambi 57% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.54 Rp 27.8K

$2.11 PKR 585

-27.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.52 Rp 225.4K

$13.73 PKR 3,801

-8.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.2K

$5.53 PKR 1,531

-46.65%

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

$1.32 Rp 23.7K

$2.14 PKR 593

-38.32%

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

$0.46 Rp 8,256

$0.40 PKR 111

15.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 Rp 3,352

$0.28 PKR 77.7

-32.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.10 Rp 37.7K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 Rp 59.9K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 Rp 19.9K

$0.90 PKR 250

22.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$0.55 PKR 153

101.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 Rp 14.5K

$1.20 PKR 333

-33.33%

Eggs

$1.47 Rp 26.4K

$1.25 PKR 346

17.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.88 Rp 123.8K

$5.96 PKR 1,650

15.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

$3.19 PKR 883

-15.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.34 Rp 150.0K

$6.48 PKR 1,793

28.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 Rp 40.9K

$1.24 PKR 344

83.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.5K

$0.53 PKR 147

145.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 Rp 31.6K

$1.03 PKR 284

69.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.4K

$0.51 PKR 142

133.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 Rp 23.0K

$0.31 PKR 85.1

312.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 Rp 35.9K

$0.31 PKR 87.1

541.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 Rp 12.2K

$0.41 PKR 113

65.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 Rp 7,031

$0.44 PKR 120

-11.36%

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)

$2.61 Rp 46.9K

$1.83 PKR 508

42.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.00 Rp 324.0K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 Rp 34.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 Rp 51.4K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 Rp 4,299

$0.28 PKR 76.8

-14.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.81 PKR 2,716

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.54 Rp 9,715

$0.87 PKR 240

-37.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 Rp 7,371

$0.74 PKR 204

-44.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$2.23 PKR 617

4.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 Rp 17.7K

$1.38 PKR 383

-28.99%

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

$20.5K Rp 368.7M

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

11.62%

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

$34.5K Rp 620.1M

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

30.28%

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

$60.0 Rp 1.1M

$113 PKR 31.4K

-47.03%

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

$4.49 Rp 80.8K

$6.12 PKR 1,694

-26.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.38 Rp 384.8K

$13.11 PKR 3,628

63.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.48 Rp 278.6K

$21.78 PKR 6,029

-28.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.59 Rp 154.7K

$18.27 PKR 5,058

-52.98%

Cinema Ticket

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

$4.26 PKR 1,179

-36.62%

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

$103 Rp 1.9M

$52.1 PKR 14.4K

97.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,931 Rp 124.8M

$1,941 PKR 537.3K

257.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.84 Rp 861.1K

$17.53 PKR 4,852

172.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.06 Rp 469.1K

$22.88 PKR 6,332

13.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.5 Rp 1.3M

$68.1 PKR 18.8K

2.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.3 Rp 1.2M

$41.55 PKR 11.5K

57.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$221 Rp 4.0M

$118 PKR 32.5K

88.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$132 Rp 2.4M

$73.2 PKR 20.3K

80.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$614 Rp 11.1M

$360 PKR 99.6K

70.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$313 Rp 5.6M

$188 PKR 52.1K

65.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,013 Rp 18.2M

$1,082 PKR 299.4K

-6.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$764 Rp 13.7M

$474 PKR 131.2K

61.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$199 Rp 3.6M

$182 PKR 50.4K

9.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

13.21

-28.39%

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

Last update for Jambi: October 19, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Jambi

$189 32.5%

Karachi

$102 21.1% 46% $87

Accommodation & Living

Jambi

$132 22.7%

Karachi

$73 15.2% 44.5% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Jambi

$94 16.1%

Karachi

$68 14% 28.1% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jambi

$86 14.8%

Karachi

$133 27.4% 54.3% $47

Eating Out

Jambi

$57 9.8%

Karachi

$62 12.8% 9.2% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Jambi

$21 3.6%

Karachi

$30 6.3% 45.2% $9.4

Getting Around

Jambi

$3.5 * 0.6%

Karachi

$15 3.2% 337% $12

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $221 in Jambi and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jambi pays 9% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $13.00 in Jambi vs $14.00 in Karachi. Groceries flip the comparison at $189 vs $102, with Karachi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Jambi

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

03:36 3:36 AM

01:36 1:36 AM

2 h behind Jambi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

750,857

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jambi Karachi 4,920 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Jambi
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

Jambi vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jambi and Karachi differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($582 vs $483 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Jambi, 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: $221 in Jambi versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 85% higher in Jambi. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $582 per month in Jambi versus $483 in Karachi – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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 20% less than in Jambi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.