Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Barcelona

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $482 in Karachi versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Karachi $482
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $750 in Karachi versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Karachi $750
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Karachi versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Karachi $1,018
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Karachi costs roughly 80% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Karachi is 64% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 PKR 588

$17.94 €15.96

-88.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.30 PKR 3,680

$68.1 €60.5

-80.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.45 PKR 1,508

$13.28 €11.81

-58.96%

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

$3.25 €2.89

-35.69%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$3.01 €2.67

-86.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 PKR 71.1

$1.87 €1.66

-86.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 PKR 254

$1.29 €1.15

-28.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 PKR 156

$2.04 €1.81

-72.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 PKR 345

$1.72 €1.53

-27.33%

Eggs

$1.23 PKR 341

$4.77 €4.24

-74.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.67 PKR 1,570

$16.77 €14.92

-66.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 PKR 876

$8.93 €7.94

-64.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.28 PKR 1,737

$19.88 €17.68

-68.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 348

$2.98 €2.65

-57.72%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 148

$2.03 €1.80

-73.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.00 PKR 276

$2.73 €2.43

-63.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 154

$2.68 €2.38

-79.10%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 PKR 91.4

$2.10 €1.87

-84.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 95.1

$2.08 €1.85

-83.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 PKR 116

$1.45 €1.29

-71.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 121

$0.89 €0.79

-50.56%

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

$6.94 €6.17

-73.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 77.0

$2.99 €2.66

-90.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.99 PKR 2,764

$25.20 €22.41

-60.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 PKR 256

$3.12 €2.77

-70.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 PKR 193

$1.44 €1.28

-51.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 PKR 597

$33.50 €29.80

-93.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 382

$1.79 €1.59

-22.91%

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

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

$34.6K €30.8K

-48.32%

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

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

$30.1K €26.7K

-9.93%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$178 €158

-36.21%

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

$5.95 PKR 1,648

$13.32 €11.85

-55.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.16 PKR 3,642

$34.88 €31.03

-62.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.55 PKR 5,965

$53.3 €47.37

-59.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.23 PKR 5,044

$16.01 €14.24

13.87%

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 PKR 1,165

$11.06 €9.84

-61.93%

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

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

$957 €851

-94.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

$16.6K €14.7K

-88.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.55 PKR 4,858

$88.2 €78.4

-80.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.51 PKR 6,506

$39.49 €35.12

-40.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

$103 €91.5

-33.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

$121 €108

-66.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.7K

$1,653 €1,470

-92.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

$1,302 €1,158

-94.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$357 PKR 98.9K

$2,557 €2,275

-86.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.0K

$1,915 €1,703

-90.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

$7,286 €6,481

-85.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 PKR 133.1K

$5,080 €4,519

-90.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$183 PKR 50.6K

$2,281 €2,029

-91.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

3.28

302.74%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.5%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 70.5% $94

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$101 21%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 216% $219

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$74 15.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 1668% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 134% $91

Eating Out

Karachi

$61 12.7%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 342% $209

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.2%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 152% $45

Getting Around

Karachi

$16 3.2%

Barcelona

$47 2% 206% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $118 in Karachi and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 1147% 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 $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $320 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:36 12:36 AM

21:36 9:36 PM

3 h behind Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

1,660,122

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Barcelona 6,160 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Barcelona

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 Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Barcelona differ by about 398% in total monthly costs ($482 vs $2,399 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1147% lower in Barcelona. 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 $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $52.2 in Karachi versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 216% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $482 in Karachi versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Karachi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Barcelona 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 398% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.