Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Balikpapan

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $668 in Balikpapan, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Balikpapan
Learn more

Balikpapan Living Index

Jump to prices

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Balikpapan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$668

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Balikpapan

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 Balikpapan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $482 in Karachi versus $668 in Balikpapan.

Karachi $482
Balikpapan $668

Estimated couple costs with rent: $750 in Karachi versus $1,048 in Balikpapan.

Karachi $750
Balikpapan $1,048

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Karachi versus $1,428 in Balikpapan.

Karachi $1,018
Balikpapan $1,428

Living in Karachi costs roughly 28% less than in Balikpapan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Balikpapan 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 PKR 588

$1.39 Rp 25.0K

53.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.30 PKR 3,680

$10.95 Rp 197.1K

21.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.45 PKR 1,508

$3.05 Rp 55.0K

78.69%

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

$2.09 PKR 579

$1.36 Rp 24.5K

53.68%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.37 Rp 6,712

8.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 PKR 71.1

$0.38 Rp 6,871

-31.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 Rp 40.4K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 Rp 59.9K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 PKR 254

$1.13 Rp 20.3K

-18.58%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 PKR 156

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

-47.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 PKR 345

$1.16 Rp 20.8K

7.76%

Eggs

$1.23 PKR 341

$2.54 Rp 45.8K

-51.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.67 PKR 1,570

$7.38 Rp 132.8K

-23.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 PKR 876

$2.92 Rp 52.6K

8.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.28 PKR 1,737

$8.04 Rp 144.7K

-21.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 348

$2.25 Rp 40.5K

-44.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 148

$1.30 Rp 23.4K

-59.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.00 PKR 276

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

-43.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 154

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

-55.91%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 PKR 91.4

$1.26 Rp 22.7K

-73.81%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 95.1

$1.90 Rp 34.2K

-82.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 PKR 116

$0.78 Rp 14.0K

-46.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 121

$0.72 Rp 13.0K

-38.89%

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)

$1.84 PKR 509

$1.89 Rp 34.0K

-2.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.83 Rp 374.9K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 Rp 33.7K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 Rp 54.3K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 77.0

$0.29 Rp 5,219

-3.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.99 PKR 2,764

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 PKR 256

$1.15 Rp 20.7K

-20.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 PKR 193

$0.38 Rp 6,777

84.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 PKR 597

$2.59 Rp 46.7K

-16.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 382

$0.77 Rp 13.8K

79.22%

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

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

$23.4K Rp 420.6M

-23.40%

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

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

$31.0K Rp 558.8M

-12.76%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$67.5 Rp 1.2M

68.12%

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

$5.95 PKR 1,648

$4.36 Rp 78.4K

36.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.16 PKR 3,642

$29.86 Rp 537.4K

-55.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.55 PKR 5,965

$23.74 Rp 427.4K

-9.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.23 PKR 5,044

$8.46 Rp 152.2K

115.48%

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 PKR 1,165

$2.84 Rp 51.1K

48.24%

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

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

$93.1 Rp 1.7M

-44.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

$8,570 Rp 154.3M

-77.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.55 PKR 4,858

$38.14 Rp 686.6K

-53.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.51 PKR 6,506

$18.66 Rp 335.9K

25.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

$141 Rp 2.5M

-51.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

$70.9 Rp 1.3M

-42.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.7K

$203 Rp 3.7M

-41.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

$148 Rp 2.7M

-50.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$357 PKR 98.9K

$537 Rp 9.7M

-33.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.0K

$361 Rp 6.5M

-47.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

$1,258 Rp 22.6M

-15.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 PKR 133.1K

$818 Rp 14.7M

-41.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$183 PKR 50.6K

$238 Rp 4.3M

-23.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

9.46

39.64%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Last update for Balikpapan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.5%

Balikpapan

$102 15.2% 23.3% $31

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$101 21%

Balikpapan

$206 30.9% 104% $105

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$74 15.3%

Balikpapan

$148 22.1% 101% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14.1%

Balikpapan

$121 18.1% 78.3% $53

Eating Out

Karachi

$61 12.7%

Balikpapan

$57 8.6% 5.9% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.2%

Balikpapan

$29 4.4% 1.8% $0.5

Getting Around

Karachi

$16 3.2%

Balikpapan

$4.2 * 0.6% 73% $11

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 $118 in Karachi and $203 in Balikpapan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Balikpapan pays 30% 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 Karachi vs $11.00 in Balikpapan. Groceries flip the comparison at $101 vs $206, with Karachi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇮🇩 Balikpapan

🕒 Local time

12:14 12:14 PM

15:14 3:14 PM

3 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

701,066

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

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).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Karachi Balikpapan 6,100 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Balikpapan

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 Balikpapan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Balikpapan differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($482 vs $668 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 30% lower in Balikpapan. 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 $203 in Balikpapan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $52.2 in Karachi versus $93.1 in Balikpapan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Karachi – a meal for two runs $13.00 versus $11.00 in Balikpapan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

Safety-wise, Karachi and Balikpapan 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 39% less than in Balikpapan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.