Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $495 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$495

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Medellin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $495 in Karachi versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Karachi $495
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $770 in Karachi versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Karachi $770
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,046 in Karachi versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Karachi $1,046
Medellin $3,186

Living in Karachi costs roughly 70% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Karachi is 64% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.21 PKR 610

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-72.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.87 PKR 3,562

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-72.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.27 PKR 1,459

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-44.53%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 PKR 598

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.36 PKR 2,036

Cappuccino

$2.16 PKR 598

$3.01 COP 9,722

-28.24%

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

$0.38 PKR 106

$1.80 COP 5,801

-78.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 PKR 69.3

$1.41 COP 4,554

-82.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 PKR 248

$1.51 COP 4,869

-40.40%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 PKR 143

$2.38 COP 7,667

-78.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 PKR 331

$1.77 COP 5,712

-32.20%

Eggs

$1.25 PKR 346

$2.89 COP 9,320

-56.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.82 PKR 1,611

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-42.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.11 PKR 860

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-68.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.53 PKR 1,807

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-53.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.28 PKR 354

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-67.76%

Banana (1kg)

$0.54 PKR 149

$1.55 COP 5,005

-65.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 PKR 283

$2.18 COP 7,039

-53.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 155

$2.18 COP 7,041

-74.31%

Potato (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 94.9

$1.96 COP 6,328

-82.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 87.0

$1.59 COP 5,125

-80.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.41 PKR 113

$1.15 COP 3,694

-64.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 PKR 120

$1.24 COP 4,009

-65.32%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.28 PKR 355

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 PKR 368

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 PKR 678

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.78 PKR 492

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-55.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 77.1

$1.17 COP 3,766

-76.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.70 PKR 3,237

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-84.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 PKR 254

$1.27 COP 4,089

-27.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 PKR 203

$2.05 COP 6,603

-64.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.22 PKR 615

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-74.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 PKR 369

$1.35 COP 4,343

-1.48%

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

$18.3K PKR 5.1M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-46.41%

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

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-23.91%

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

$112 PKR 31.0K

$170 COP 547.0K

-33.88%

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

$5.99 PKR 1,656

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-55.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.18 PKR 3,648

$28.07 COP 90.5K

-53.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.67 PKR 6,825

$43.70 COP 140.9K

-43.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.29 PKR 5,061

$17.19 COP 55.4K

6.40%

Cinema Ticket

$4.34 PKR 1,201

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-37.19%

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

$67.2 PKR 18.6K

$797 COP 2.6M

-91.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,915 PKR 529.8K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-78.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.61 PKR 4,873

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-79.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.03 PKR 6,096

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-61.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.3 PKR 18.9K

$135 COP 435.2K

-49.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.66 PKR 11.3K

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-58.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$136 PKR 37.6K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-88.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$82.2 PKR 22.7K

$642 COP 2.1M

-87.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$392 PKR 108.5K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-80.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$207 PKR 57.2K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-79.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,046 PKR 289.5K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-74.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$482 PKR 133.2K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-74.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$184 PKR 51.0K

$657 COP 2.1M

-71.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

10.94

20.75%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$131 26.6%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 60.9% $80

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$102 20.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 192% $195

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$82 16.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 681% $559

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$67 13.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 153% $102

Eating Out

Karachi

$62 12.5%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 174% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$33 6.7%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 72.5% $24

Getting Around

Karachi

$17 3.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 438% $76

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $136 in Karachi and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 3.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $13 in Karachi vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $102 vs $297 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:18 12:18 PM

02:18 2:18 AM

10 h behind Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 309 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Karachi Medellin 14,690 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Medellin

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 Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $495 in Karachi and $1,639 in Medellin, so Karachi is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 72% lower in Karachi. 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: $136 in Karachi versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $495 per month in Karachi versus $1,639 in Medellin – Karachi is about 70% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 85% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $495 in Karachi versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Medellin. 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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.