Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $490 a month against $1,561 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$490

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Mexico City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $490 in Karachi versus $1,561 in Mexico City.

Karachi $490
Mexico City $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $755 in Karachi versus $2,440 in Mexico City.

Karachi $755
Mexico City $2,440

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,019 in Karachi versus $3,319 in Mexico City.

Karachi $1,019
Mexico City $3,319

Living in Karachi costs roughly 69% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Karachi is 63% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.15 PKR 596

$11.12 MX$204

-80.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.37 PKR 3,700

$48.99 MX$900

-72.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.29 PKR 1,464

$11.23 MX$206

-52.89%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 PKR 606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.25 PKR 2,005

Cappuccino

$2.11 PKR 583

$3.76 MX$69.0

-43.88%

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

$0.37 PKR 103

$1.65 MX$30.34

-77.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 PKR 78.2

$1.28 MX$23.48

-78.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 MX$59.8

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.66 MX$104

Milk (1 liter)

$0.86 PKR 238

$1.81 MX$33.23

-52.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 PKR 144

$2.94 MX$54.0

-82.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.24 PKR 344

$2.05 MX$37.62

-39.51%

Eggs

$1.24 PKR 342

$2.93 MX$53.7

-57.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.86 PKR 1,622

$11.95 MX$219

-50.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.12 PKR 862

$9.51 MX$175

-67.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.25 PKR 1,731

$14.84 MX$273

-57.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 PKR 356

$3.14 MX$57.7

-58.92%

Banana (1kg)

$0.54 PKR 150

$2.01 MX$36.99

-73.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.99 PKR 273

$2.08 MX$38.10

-52.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 155

$2.22 MX$40.72

-74.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 PKR 91.6

$2.06 MX$37.82

-83.98%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 PKR 95.9

$1.88 MX$34.46

-81.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.45 PKR 124

$1.48 MX$27.18

-69.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 121

$1.35 MX$24.70

-67.41%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.23 PKR 341

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 PKR 381

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 PKR 676

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.79 PKR 497

$5.41 MX$99.3

-66.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.86 MX$310

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.43

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 MX$79.4

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 76.5

$0.34 MX$6.33

-17.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.68 PKR 2,679

$20.23 MX$371

-52.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 PKR 255

$2.10 MX$38.47

-56.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 PKR 196

$0.53 MX$9.74

33.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.22 PKR 615

$5.41 MX$99.3

-58.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 PKR 372

$1.52 MX$27.91

-11.18%

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

$17.8K PKR 4.9M

$21.7K MX$399.0K

-17.91%

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

$26.7K PKR 7.4M

$24.8K MX$455.6K

7.77%

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

$112 PKR 30.9K

$63.0 MX$1,156

77.54%

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

$6.05 PKR 1,673

$28.88 MX$530

-79.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.29 PKR 3,679

$33.93 MX$623

-60.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.51 PKR 5,954

$55.8 MX$1,024

-61.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.80 PKR 4,927

$24.90 MX$457

-28.51%

Cinema Ticket

$4.42 PKR 1,222

$6.77 MX$124

-34.71%

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

$50.7 PKR 14.0K

$428 MX$7,854

-88.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,957 PKR 541.6K

$11.9K MX$218.0K

-83.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.57 PKR 4,862

$70.0 MX$1,286

-74.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.78 PKR 6,304

$53.7 MX$986

-57.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.6 PKR 18.7K

$110 MX$2,016

-38.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.97 PKR 11.3K

$115 MX$2,115

-64.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$117 PKR 32.5K

$1,062 MX$19.5K

-88.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$75.7 PKR 21.0K

$671 MX$12.3K

-88.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$365 PKR 101.1K

$2,379 MX$43.7K

-84.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$182 PKR 50.5K

$1,260 MX$23.1K

-85.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,054 PKR 291.6K

$3,716 MX$68.2K

-71.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$491 PKR 135.8K

$1,976 MX$36.3K

-75.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 PKR 51.2K

$997 MX$18.3K

-81.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

11.3

16.90%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 4, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$131 27.3%

Mexico City

$126 8% 4.1% $5.3

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$101 20.9%

Mexico City

$327 20.7% 224% $226

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$76 15.7%

Mexico City

$671 42.4% 786% $595

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$67 13.9%

Mexico City

$157 9.9% 134% $90

Eating Out

Karachi

$61 12.7%

Mexico City

$207 13.1% 240% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.3%

Mexico City

$69 4.4% 128% $39

Getting Around

Karachi

$15 3.2%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 72.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $117 in Karachi and $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 439% 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 $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $327 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

01:36 1:36 AM

11 h behind Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Karachi Mexico City 14,870 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Mexico City

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 Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Mexico City differ by about 219% in total monthly costs ($490 vs $1,561 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 439% lower in Mexico City. 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: $117 in Karachi versus $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $490 per month in Karachi versus $1,561 in Mexico City – a 219% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 109% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $490 in Karachi versus $1,561 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. 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 219% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.