Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Seria

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $567 in Seria, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. The total is higher in Seria despite lower rent and utilities.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Seria
Learn more

Seria Living Index

Jump to prices

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Seria

🇧🇳 Brunei

$567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Seria

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $482 in Karachi versus $567 in Seria.

Karachi $482
Seria $567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $750 in Karachi versus $904 in Seria.

Karachi $750
Seria $904

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Karachi versus $1,242 in Seria.

Karachi $1,018
Seria $1,242

Living in Karachi costs roughly 15% less than in Seria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Seria 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 PKR 588

$3.13 BND 4.00

-31.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.30 PKR 3,680

$27.07 BND 34.64

-50.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.45 PKR 1,508

$5.36 BND 6.86

1.68%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 PKR 607

$1.59 BND 2.04

37.74%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.24 PKR 2,005

$2.32 BND 2.96

212.07%

Cappuccino

$2.09 PKR 579

$3.88 BND 4.97

-46.13%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.91 BND 1.16

-56.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 PKR 71.1

$0.54 BND 0.69

-51.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 PKR 254

$1.81 BND 2.32

-49.17%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 PKR 156

$1.43 BND 1.83

-60.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 PKR 345

$1.21 BND 1.55

3.31%

Eggs

$1.23 PKR 341

$1.38 BND 1.76

-10.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.67 PKR 1,570

$6.17 BND 7.90

-8.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 PKR 876

$4.41 BND 5.64

-28.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.28 PKR 1,737

$10.89 BND 13.93

-42.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 348

$3.20 BND 4.09

-60.63%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 148

$2.23 BND 2.85

-76.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.00 PKR 276

$2.98 BND 3.82

-66.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 154

$2.55 BND 3.27

-78.04%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 PKR 91.4

$1.68 BND 2.15

-80.36%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 95.1

$2.08 BND 2.66

-83.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 PKR 116

$3.74 BND 4.79

-88.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 121

$0.76 BND 0.98

-42.11%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.25 PKR 346

$23.42 BND 29.96

-94.66%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 PKR 365

$3.22 BND 4.12

-59.01%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 PKR 670

$1.08 BND 1.38

124.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.84 PKR 509

$15.42 BND 19.73

-88.07%

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

$4.02 BND 5.14

-77.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 PKR 193

$3.25 BND 4.15

-78.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 PKR 597

$11.77 BND 15.06

-81.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 382

$0.30 BND 0.38

360.00%

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

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

$43.5K BND 55.7K

-58.90%

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

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

$36.2K BND 46.3K

-25.21%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$61.8 BND 79.0

83.69%

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

$5.95 PKR 1,648

$15.66 BND 20.03

-62.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.16 PKR 3,642

$64.1 BND 82.0

-79.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.55 PKR 5,965

$27.52 BND 35.20

-21.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.23 PKR 5,044

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 PKR 1,165

$5.36 BND 6.86

-21.46%

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

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

$216 BND 276

-75.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

$9,750 BND 12.5K

-80.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.55 PKR 4,858

$31.04 BND 39.71

-43.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.51 PKR 6,506

$27.71 BND 35.45

-15.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

$50.3 BND 64.4

36.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

$46.16 BND 59.1

-12.07%

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

$716 BND 917

-74.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

3.88

240.46%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Last update for Seria: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.5%

Seria

$142 25% 6.8% $9

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$101 21%

Seria

$203 35.9% 101% $102

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$74 15.3%

Seria

- * 0% 100%

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14.1%

Seria

$70 12.3% 3.1% $2.1

Eating Out

Karachi

$61 12.7%

Seria

$94 16.5% 53.1% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.2%

Seria

$38 6.8% 27.6% $8.3

Getting Around

Karachi

$16 3.2%

Seria

$20 * 3.6% 30.5% $4.7

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

Cost Breakdown

Seria pays 292% 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 $27.00 in Seria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $203 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇧🇳 Seria

🕒 Local time

09:41 9:41 AM

12:41 12:41 PM

3 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

30,097

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Brunei Dollar BND $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

1 BND = 0.782 USD

1 BND = 0.695 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BND, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.782 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 BND (1 BND = 0.695 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Karachi Seria 5,520 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Seria

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 Seria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Seria differ by about 18% in total monthly costs ($482 vs $567 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 292% lower in Seria. 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 101% higher in Seria. 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 $567 in Seria – a 18% 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 Seria 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 18% less than in Seria. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.