Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Longyan

For one person, living costs are similar in Karachi and in Longyan: $483 and $462 a month, rent and utilities included.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Longyan
Learn more

Longyan Living Index

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Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$483

/mo nomad

Longyan

🇨🇳 China

$462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Longyan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $483 in Karachi versus $462 in Longyan.

Karachi $483
Longyan $462

Estimated couple costs with rent: $754 in Karachi versus $750 in Longyan.

Karachi $754
Longyan $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,025 in Karachi versus $1,038 in Longyan.

Karachi $1,025
Longyan $1,038

Living in Karachi is roughly 5% more expensive than in Longyan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Longyan 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.11 PKR 585

$2.95 ¥19.74

-28.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.73 PKR 3,801

$22.57 ¥151

-39.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 PKR 1,531

$4.96 ¥33.19

11.49%

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

$2.20 ¥14.72

-2.73%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.44 ¥2.94

-9.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 PKR 77.7

$0.27 ¥1.79

3.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.87

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.68

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 PKR 250

$2.08 ¥13.90

-56.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 PKR 153

$1.42 ¥9.47

-61.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 PKR 333

$0.78 ¥5.22

53.85%

Eggs

$1.25 PKR 346

$1.48 ¥9.90

-15.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.96 PKR 1,650

$7.63 ¥51.0

-21.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.19 PKR 883

$2.18 ¥14.61

46.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.48 PKR 1,793

$8.99 ¥60.1

-27.92%

Apples (1kg)

$1.24 PKR 344

$1.89 ¥12.63

-34.39%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 147

$1.34 ¥8.95

-60.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.03 PKR 284

$1.77 ¥11.83

-41.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 PKR 142

$1.12 ¥7.48

-54.46%

Potato (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 85.1

$0.89 ¥5.97

-65.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 87.1

$1.01 ¥6.75

-69.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.41 PKR 113

$0.43 ¥2.90

-4.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 120

$0.48 ¥3.21

-8.33%

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

$3.42 ¥22.85

-46.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 ¥81.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥5.21

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 ¥7.89

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 76.8

$0.16 ¥1.08

75.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.81 PKR 2,716

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 PKR 240

$1.06 ¥7.10

-17.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 PKR 204

$0.47 ¥3.12

57.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 PKR 617

$7.57 ¥50.6

-70.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 383

$1.31 ¥8.76

5.34%

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

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

$19.3K ¥129.1K

-4.95%

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

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

$15.6K ¥104.3K

69.58%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$66.3 ¥443

70.83%

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

$6.12 PKR 1,694

$15.68 ¥105

-60.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.11 PKR 3,628

$8.86 ¥59.3

47.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.78 PKR 6,029

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.27 PKR 5,058

$4.40 ¥29.44

315.23%

Cinema Ticket

$4.26 PKR 1,179

$7.61 ¥50.9

-44.02%

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

$52.1 PKR 14.4K

$213 ¥1,425

-75.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,941 PKR 537.3K

$11.7K ¥78.4K

-83.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.53 PKR 4,852

$29.86 ¥200

-41.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.88 PKR 6,332

$14.92 ¥99.8

53.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.1 PKR 18.8K

$76.0 ¥508

-10.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.55 PKR 11.5K

$98.4 ¥658

-57.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.2 PKR 20.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$360 PKR 99.6K

$377 ¥2,518

-4.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,082 PKR 299.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$474 PKR 131.2K

$1,338 ¥8,949

-64.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$182 PKR 50.4K

$485 ¥3,243

-62.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

3.46

281.79%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Longyan: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.4%

Longyan

$91 19.7% 31.4% $42

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$102 21.1%

Longyan

$178 38.5% 74% $76

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$73 15.2%

Longyan

- * 0% 100%

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14%

Longyan

$99 21.4% 46.1% $31

Eating Out

Karachi

$62 12.8%

Longyan

$75 16.3% 21.7% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.3%

Longyan

$15 * 3.3% 49.8% $15

Getting Around

Karachi

$15 3.2%

Longyan

$4 * 0.9% 73.9% $11

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

Cost Breakdown

Longyan pays 166% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $14.00 in Karachi vs $23.00 in Longyan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $102 vs $178 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇨🇳 Longyan

🕒 Local time

07:58 7:58 AM

10:58 10:58 AM

3 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

2,559,545

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Karachi Longyan 5,010 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Longyan

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 Longyan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Longyan differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($483 vs $462 including rent). Longyan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 166% lower in Longyan. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Shoppers in Karachi pay roughly 74% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $483 per month in Karachi versus $462 in Longyan – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Longyan 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 Longyan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Karachi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.