Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Taguig City

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $483 a month against $1,017 in Taguig City, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Taguig City
Learn more

Taguig City Living Index

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Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$483

/mo nomad

Taguig City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$1,017

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Taguig 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 Taguig City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $483 in Karachi versus $1,017 in Taguig City.

Karachi $483
Taguig City $1,017

Estimated couple costs with rent: $754 in Karachi versus $1,533 in Taguig City.

Karachi $754
Taguig City $1,533

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,025 in Karachi versus $2,049 in Taguig City.

Karachi $1,025
Taguig City $2,049

Living in Karachi costs roughly 52% less than in Taguig City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Taguig City 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.11 PKR 585

$3.90 ₱246

-45.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.73 PKR 3,801

$26.47 ₱1,666

-48.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 PKR 1,531

$3.09 ₱195

78.96%

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

$2.47 ₱156

-13.36%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.74 ₱46.34

-45.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 PKR 77.7

$0.44 ₱27.39

-36.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.20 ₱75.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 ₱151

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 PKR 250

$1.92 ₱121

-53.13%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 PKR 153

$1.44 ₱90.7

-61.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 PKR 333

$0.88 ₱55.4

36.36%

Eggs

$1.25 PKR 346

$1.77 ₱112

-29.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.96 PKR 1,650

$5.13 ₱323

16.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.19 PKR 883

$4.59 ₱289

-30.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.48 PKR 1,793

$8.01 ₱504

-19.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.24 PKR 344

$2.29 ₱144

-45.85%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 147

$1.82 ₱115

-70.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.03 PKR 284

$2.74 ₱173

-62.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 PKR 142

$1.06 ₱67.0

-51.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 85.1

$1.66 ₱104

-81.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.31 PKR 87.1

$2.66 ₱168

-88.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.41 PKR 113

$1.60 ₱101

-74.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 120

$0.55 ₱34.73

-20.00%

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

$2.92 ₱184

-37.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.67 ₱546

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₱80.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 ₱126

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 76.8

$0.20 ₱12.57

40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.81 PKR 2,716

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 PKR 240

$0.78 ₱49.42

11.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 PKR 204

$0.23 ₱14.45

221.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 PKR 617

$1.92 ₱121

16.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 383

$1.25 ₱78.7

10.40%

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

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

-13.41%

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

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

$19.4K ₱1.2M

36.64%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$110 ₱6,907

3.26%

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

$6.12 PKR 1,694

$15.53 ₱978

-60.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.11 PKR 3,628

$23.08 ₱1,453

-43.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.78 PKR 6,029

$40.31 ₱2,538

-45.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.27 PKR 5,058

Cinema Ticket

$4.26 PKR 1,179

$6.58 ₱414

-35.26%

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

$52.1 PKR 14.4K

$133 ₱8,378

-60.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,941 PKR 537.3K

$8,811 ₱554.7K

-77.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.53 PKR 4,852

$40.50 ₱2,550

-56.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.88 PKR 6,332

$27.26 ₱1,716

-16.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.1 PKR 18.8K

$66.8 ₱4,207

1.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.55 PKR 11.5K

$58.4 ₱3,674

-28.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.5K

$624 ₱39.3K

-81.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.2 PKR 20.3K

$443 ₱27.9K

-83.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$360 PKR 99.6K

$2,553 ₱160.8K

-85.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.1K

$819 ₱51.6K

-77.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,082 PKR 299.4K

$3,934 ₱247.7K

-72.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$474 PKR 131.2K

$1,346 ₱84.7K

-64.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$182 PKR 50.4K

$467 ₱29.4K

-61.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

6.83

93.41%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Taguig City: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.4%

Taguig City

$148 14.6% 11.9% $16

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$102 21.1%

Taguig City

$196 19.3% 92.3% $94

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$73 15.2%

Taguig City

$443 43.6% 506% $370

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14%

Taguig City

$87 8.5% 28.6% $19

Eating Out

Karachi

$62 12.8%

Taguig City

$86 8.4% 38.3% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.3%

Taguig City

$53 5.3% 76.4% $23

Getting Around

Karachi

$15 3.2%

Taguig City

$2.7 * 0.3% 82.4% $13

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 $624 in Taguig City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taguig City pays 157% 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: $14.00 in Karachi vs $26.00 in Taguig City 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

🇵🇭 Taguig City

🕒 Local time

06:50 6:50 AM

09:50 9:50 AM

3 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

47,397

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Karachi Taguig City 5,740 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Taguig 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 Taguig City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Taguig City differ by about 110% in total monthly costs ($483 vs $1,017 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 157% lower in Taguig 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: $118 in Karachi versus $624 in Taguig City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 92% higher in Taguig City. 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 $1,017 in Taguig City – a 110% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $483 in Karachi versus $1,017 in Taguig City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Taguig 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.

Safety-wise, Karachi and Taguig City 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 110% less than in Taguig City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.