Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Sibolga

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $483 a month against $622 in Sibolga, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Sibolga
Learn more

Sibolga Living Index

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Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$483

/mo nomad

Sibolga

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$622

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Sibolga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $483 in Karachi versus $622 in Sibolga.

Karachi $483
Sibolga $622

Estimated couple costs with rent: $754 in Karachi versus $990 in Sibolga.

Karachi $754
Sibolga $990

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,025 in Karachi versus $1,358 in Sibolga.

Karachi $1,025
Sibolga $1,358

Living in Karachi costs roughly 22% less than in Sibolga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Sibolga 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.11 PKR 585

$1.64 Rp 29.5K

28.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.73 PKR 3,801

$13.70 Rp 246.7K

0.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 PKR 1,531

$3.22 Rp 57.9K

71.74%

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

$1.48 Rp 26.6K

44.59%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.44 Rp 7,872

-9.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 PKR 77.7

$0.25 Rp 4,506

12.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.21 Rp 39.8K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 Rp 61.2K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 PKR 250

$1.17 Rp 21.1K

-23.08%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 PKR 153

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

-48.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 PKR 333

$0.87 Rp 15.6K

37.93%

Eggs

$1.25 PKR 346

$1.47 Rp 26.4K

-14.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.96 PKR 1,650

$7.11 Rp 128.0K

-16.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.19 PKR 883

$2.99 Rp 53.9K

6.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.48 PKR 1,793

$7.76 Rp 139.7K

-16.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.24 PKR 344

$2.26 Rp 40.6K

-45.13%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 147

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

-58.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.03 PKR 284

$1.68 Rp 30.2K

-38.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 PKR 142

$1.23 Rp 22.2K

-58.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 85.1

$1.29 Rp 23.3K

-75.97%

Onion (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 87.1

$1.90 Rp 34.1K

-83.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.41 PKR 113

$0.79 Rp 14.2K

-48.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 120

$0.43 Rp 7,745

2.33%

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

$2.75 Rp 49.5K

-33.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.83 Rp 374.9K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 Rp 52.8K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 76.8

$0.29 Rp 5,222

-3.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.81 PKR 2,716

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 PKR 240

$0.52 Rp 9,423

67.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 PKR 204

$0.38 Rp 6,798

94.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 PKR 617

$2.60 Rp 46.8K

-14.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 383

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

70.37%

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

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

$23.7K Rp 426.4M

-22.53%

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

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

$30.5K Rp 548.3M

-13.19%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$65.7 Rp 1.2M

72.53%

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

$6.12 PKR 1,694

$4.24 Rp 76.3K

44.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.11 PKR 3,628

$19.44 Rp 349.9K

-32.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.78 PKR 6,029

$19.82 Rp 356.7K

9.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.27 PKR 5,058

$8.41 Rp 151.4K

117.24%

Cinema Ticket

$4.26 PKR 1,179

$2.72 Rp 48.9K

56.62%

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

$52.1 PKR 14.4K

$93.2 Rp 1.7M

-44.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,941 PKR 537.3K

$7,764 Rp 139.7M

-75.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.53 PKR 4,852

$43.07 Rp 775.2K

-59.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.88 PKR 6,332

$28.87 Rp 519.7K

-20.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.1 PKR 18.8K

$75.4 Rp 1.4M

-9.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.55 PKR 11.5K

$70.3 Rp 1.3M

-40.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.5K

$231 Rp 4.2M

-49.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.2 PKR 20.3K

$149 Rp 2.7M

-50.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$360 PKR 99.6K

$541 Rp 9.7M

-33.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.1K

$367 Rp 6.6M

-48.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,082 PKR 299.4K

$1,188 Rp 21.4M

-8.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$474 PKR 131.2K

$785 Rp 14.1M

-39.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$182 PKR 50.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

9.46

39.64%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Sibolga: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.4%

Sibolga

$89 14.4% 32.6% $43

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$102 21.1%

Sibolga

$196 31.5% 91.9% $94

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$73 15.2%

Sibolga

$149 24% 104% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14%

Sibolga

$98 15.7% 45.1% $30

Eating Out

Karachi

$62 12.8%

Sibolga

$61 9.8% 1.3% $0.8

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.3%

Sibolga

$25 4.1% 16.7% $5.1

Getting Around

Karachi

$15 3.2%

Sibolga

$3.6 * 0.6% 76.9% $12

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 $231 in Sibolga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $14.00 in Karachi vs $14.00 in Sibolga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $102 vs $196 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇮🇩 Sibolga

🕒 Local time

23:47 11:47 PM

01:47 1:47 AM

2 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

95,471

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Karachi Sibolga 4,270 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Sibolga

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 Sibolga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Sibolga differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($483 vs $622 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $725 in Karachi and $933 in Sibolga to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $118 in Karachi versus $231 in Sibolga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 92% higher in Sibolga. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $483 per month in Karachi versus $622 in Sibolga – a 29% 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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Sibolga. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.