Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Calamba

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $518 in Calamba, rent and utilities included – about $430 less a year. The total is higher in Calamba despite lower rent and utilities.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Calamba
Learn more

Calamba Living Index

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Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Calamba

🇵🇭 Philippines

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Calamba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $482 in Karachi versus $518 in Calamba.

Karachi $482
Calamba $518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $750 in Karachi versus $764 in Calamba.

Karachi $750
Calamba $764

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Karachi versus $1,010 in Calamba.

Karachi $1,018
Calamba $1,010

Living in Karachi costs roughly 7% less than in Calamba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Calamba 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 PKR 588

$3.92 ₱247

-45.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.30 PKR 3,680

$12.02 ₱757

10.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.45 PKR 1,508

$2.82 ₱178

93.26%

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

$1.79 ₱113

16.76%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.56 ₱35.44

-28.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 PKR 71.1

$0.33 ₱21.06

-21.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.94 ₱59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ₱97.7

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 PKR 254

$1.60 ₱101

-42.50%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 PKR 156

$1.11 ₱70.1

-49.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 PKR 345

$0.97 ₱61.0

28.87%

Eggs

$1.23 PKR 341

$2.00 ₱126

-38.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.67 PKR 1,570

$5.20 ₱327

9.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 PKR 876

$3.40 ₱214

-7.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.28 PKR 1,737

$7.80 ₱491

-19.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 348

$2.31 ₱145

-45.45%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 148

$1.54 ₱96.9

-65.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.00 PKR 276

$2.40 ₱151

-58.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 154

$1.06 ₱66.9

-47.17%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 PKR 91.4

$1.73 ₱109

-80.92%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 95.1

$1.78 ₱112

-80.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 PKR 116

$0.61 ₱38.68

-31.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 121

$0.49 ₱31.10

-10.20%

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

$2.92 ₱184

-36.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.87 ₱558

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₱60.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 ₱132

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 77.0

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.99 PKR 2,764

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 PKR 256

$0.82 ₱51.9

12.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 PKR 193

$0.25 ₱15.75

180.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 PKR 597

$1.88 ₱119

14.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 382

$0.93 ₱58.7

48.39%

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

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

$21.1K ₱1.3M

-15.30%

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

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

$19.0K ₱1.2M

42.45%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$139 ₱8,759

-18.45%

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

$5.95 PKR 1,648

$17.36 ₱1,093

-65.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.16 PKR 3,642

$23.85 ₱1,502

-44.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.55 PKR 5,965

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.23 PKR 5,044

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 PKR 1,165

$5.04 ₱317

-16.47%

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

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

$130 ₱8,193

-59.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

$10.6K ₱668.9K

-81.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.55 PKR 4,858

$28.54 ₱1,797

-38.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.51 PKR 6,506

$19.73 ₱1,242

19.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

$71.0 ₱4,468

-2.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

$55.3 ₱3,482

-26.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.7K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$357 PKR 98.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 PKR 133.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$183 PKR 50.6K

$260 ₱16.4K

-29.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

6.75

95.70%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Last update for Calamba: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.5%

Calamba

$180 34.8% 36% $48

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$101 21%

Calamba

$175 33.7% 72.4% $73

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$74 15.3%

Calamba

- * 0% 100%

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14.1%

Calamba

$79 15.2% 16% $11

Eating Out

Karachi

$61 12.7%

Calamba

$73 14% 19.1% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.2%

Calamba

$10 * 1.9% 66.4% $20

Getting Around

Karachi

$16 3.2%

Calamba

$2.1 * 0.4% 86.6% $13

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

Cost Breakdown

Calamba pays 42% 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 $12.00 in Calamba. Groceries flip the comparison at $101 vs $175, with Karachi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇵🇭 Calamba

🕒 Local time

00:49 12:49 AM

03:49 3:49 AM

3 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

539,671

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Karachi Calamba 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Calamba

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 Calamba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Calamba. 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 42% lower in Calamba. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Calamba. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $482 per month in Karachi versus $518 in Calamba – a 8% 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.

Safety-wise, Karachi and Calamba 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 8% less than in Calamba. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.