Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Shantou

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $692 in Shantou, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Shantou
Learn more

Shantou Living Index

Jump to prices

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Shantou

🇨🇳 China

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Shantou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $482 in Karachi versus $692 in Shantou.

Karachi $482
Shantou $692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $750 in Karachi versus $1,104 in Shantou.

Karachi $750
Shantou $1,104

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Karachi versus $1,516 in Shantou.

Karachi $1,018
Shantou $1,516

Living in Karachi costs roughly 30% less than in Shantou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Shantou 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 PKR 588

$2.29 ¥15.35

-6.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.30 PKR 3,679

$23.70 ¥158

-43.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.45 PKR 1,507

$5.17 ¥34.59

5.42%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 PKR 607

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.24 PKR 2,004

Cappuccino

$2.09 PKR 579

$3.38 ¥22.63

-38.17%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.47 ¥3.12

-14.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 PKR 71.1

$0.31 ¥2.05

-16.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.92

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 ¥14.28

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 PKR 254

$1.60 ¥10.71

-42.50%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 PKR 156

$1.45 ¥9.73

-61.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 PKR 345

$0.77 ¥5.18

62.34%

Eggs

$1.23 PKR 341

$1.69 ¥11.33

-27.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.67 PKR 1,570

$13.63 ¥91.1

-58.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 PKR 875

$3.43 ¥22.91

-7.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.28 PKR 1,737

$13.16 ¥88.0

-52.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 348

$1.95 ¥13.03

-35.38%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 147

$1.50 ¥10.05

-64.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.00 PKR 276

$1.81 ¥12.14

-44.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 154

$1.30 ¥8.70

-56.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 PKR 91.4

$0.82 ¥5.49

-59.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 95.1

$1.06 ¥7.11

-67.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 PKR 116

$0.59 ¥3.96

-28.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 121

$0.43 ¥2.88

2.33%

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

$3.69 ¥24.71

-50.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.00 ¥80.2

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥5.57

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 ¥11.98

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 77.0

$0.36 ¥2.41

-22.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.99 PKR 2,764

$24.27 ¥162

-58.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 PKR 256

$1.53 ¥10.24

-39.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 PKR 193

$0.38 ¥2.56

84.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 PKR 597

$7.31 ¥48.86

-70.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 382

$1.23 ¥8.25

12.20%

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

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

$19.8K ¥132.4K

-9.58%

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

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

$18.0K ¥120.5K

50.30%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$56.7 ¥379

100.23%

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

$5.95 PKR 1,647

$8.89 ¥59.5

-33.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.16 PKR 3,641

$13.86 ¥92.7

-5.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.55 PKR 5,963

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.23 PKR 5,043

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 PKR 1,165

$7.54 ¥50.5

-44.16%

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

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

$540 ¥3,614

-90.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,940 PKR 536.9K

$24.2K ¥162.1K

-91.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.55 PKR 4,857

$55.6 ¥372

-68.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.51 PKR 6,504

$39.70 ¥265

-40.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

$73.1 ¥489

-5.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

$91.4 ¥611

-55.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.6K

$298 ¥1,991

-60.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

$151 ¥1,011

-51.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$357 PKR 98.9K

$602 ¥4,027

-40.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.0K

$294 ¥1,969

-36.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,060 PKR 293.3K

$2,278 ¥15.2K

-53.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 PKR 133.0K

$4,469 ¥29.9K

-89.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$183 PKR 50.6K

$1,062 ¥7,099

-82.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

3.35

294.33%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Last update for Shantou: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.5%

Shantou

$79 11.5% 40.1% $53

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$101 21%

Shantou

$214 31% 112% $113

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$74 15.3%

Shantou

$151 21.8% 105% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14.1%

Shantou

$117 16.9% 72.6% $49

Eating Out

Karachi

$61 12.7%

Shantou

$86 12.5% 41.2% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.2%

Shantou

$15 * 2.2% 49.6% $15

Getting Around

Karachi

$16 3.2%

Shantou

$29 4.2% 87.9% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $118 in Karachi and $298 in Shantou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shantou pays 480% 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 $24.00 in Shantou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $214 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇨🇳 Shantou

🕒 Local time

14:31 2:31 PM

17:31 5:31 PM

3 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

5,389,328

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.23 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.23 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Karachi Shantou 5,010 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Shantou

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 Shantou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Shantou differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($482 vs $692 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 480% lower in Shantou. 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: $118 in Karachi versus $298 in Shantou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $482 per month in Karachi versus $692 in Shantou – a 44% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 143% less than in Shantou. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Shantou. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.