Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $483 a month against $1,771 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

Jump to prices

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$483

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Athens

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Karachi and in Athens actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $483 in Karachi versus $1,771 in Athens.

Karachi $483
Athens $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $754 in Karachi versus $2,736 in Athens.

Karachi $754
Athens $2,736

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,025 in Karachi versus $3,701 in Athens.

Karachi $1,025
Athens $3,701

Living in Karachi costs roughly 73% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Karachi is 64% below, Athens is 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.11 PKR 585

$16.83 €14.97

-87.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.73 PKR 3,801

$68.2 €60.7

-79.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 PKR 1,531

$11.43 €10.17

-51.62%

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

$2.14 PKR 593

$4.06 €3.61

-47.29%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$2.74 €2.44

-85.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 PKR 77.7

$0.53 €0.47

-47.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 €5.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.68 €5.06

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 PKR 250

$1.85 €1.64

-51.35%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 PKR 153

$1.44 €1.28

-61.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 PKR 333

$2.82 €2.51

-57.45%

Eggs

$1.25 PKR 346

$4.86 €4.32

-74.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.96 PKR 1,650

$15.27 €13.58

-60.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.19 PKR 883

$10.36 €9.21

-69.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.48 PKR 1,793

$19.10 €16.99

-66.07%

Apples (1kg)

$1.24 PKR 344

$2.22 €1.98

-44.14%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 147

$1.92 €1.71

-72.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.03 PKR 284

$1.41 €1.25

-26.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 PKR 142

$2.04 €1.82

-75.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 85.1

$1.05 €0.93

-70.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 87.1

$1.17 €1.04

-73.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.41 PKR 113

$1.08 €0.96

-62.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 120

$0.84 €0.75

-47.62%

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)

$1.83 PKR 508

$5.49 €4.89

-66.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 €9.05

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.90

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 76.8

$1.37 €1.22

-79.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.81 PKR 2,716

$29.71 €26.43

-66.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 PKR 240

$4.39 €3.90

-80.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 PKR 204

$1.00 €0.89

-26.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 PKR 617

$16.63 €14.79

-86.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 383

$2.38 €2.11

-42.02%

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

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

$28.4K €25.3K

-35.38%

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

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

$27.2K €24.2K

-2.84%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$203 €181

-44.31%

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

$6.12 PKR 1,694

$26.79 €23.83

-77.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.11 PKR 3,628

$30.16 €26.82

-56.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.78 PKR 6,029

$53.7 €47.74

-59.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.27 PKR 5,058

$26.40 €23.48

-30.80%

Cinema Ticket

$4.26 PKR 1,179

$10.59 €9.42

-59.77%

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

$52.1 PKR 14.4K

$566 €504

-90.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,941 PKR 537.3K

$12.9K €11.4K

-84.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.53 PKR 4,852

$89.1 €79.3

-80.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.88 PKR 6,332

$40.48 €36.01

-43.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.1 PKR 18.8K

$104 €92.3

-34.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.55 PKR 11.5K

$124 €111

-66.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.5K

$729 €648

-83.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.2 PKR 20.3K

$647 €576

-88.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$360 PKR 99.6K

$1,328 €1,181

-72.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.1K

$1,169 €1,040

-83.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,082 PKR 299.4K

$4,024 €3,579

-73.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$474 PKR 131.2K

$3,483 €3,098

-86.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$182 PKR 50.4K

$1,240 €1,103

-85.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

4.48

194.87%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.4%

Athens

$260 14.7% 96.5% $128

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$102 21.1%

Athens

$312 17.6% 206% $210

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$73 15.2%

Athens

$647 36.5% 785% $574

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14%

Athens

$161 9.1% 138% $93

Eating Out

Karachi

$62 12.8%

Athens

$271 15.3% 337% $209

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.3%

Athens

$75 4.2% 147% $45

Getting Around

Karachi

$15 3.2%

Athens

$45 2.5% 188% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $118 in Karachi and $729 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 581% 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: $14.00 in Karachi vs $68.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $102 vs $312 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

06:19 6:19 AM

03:19 3:19 AM

3 h behind Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Karachi Athens 4,310 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Athens

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

Karachi vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi wins on cost – living expenses run 267% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Karachi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 581% lower in Athens. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $118 in Karachi versus $729 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Karachi – a meal for two runs $14.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $483 per month in Karachi versus $1,771 in Athens – a 267% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $483 in Karachi versus $1,771 in Athens, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Karachi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Karachi delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $483 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Karachi hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Karachi and Athens are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 267% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.