Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Tainan

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $1,068 in Tainan, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Tainan
Learn more

Tainan Living Index

Jump to prices

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Tainan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,068

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karachi and in Tainan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $482 in Karachi versus $1,068 in Tainan.

Karachi $482
Tainan $1,068

Estimated couple costs with rent: $750 in Karachi versus $1,837 in Tainan.

Karachi $750
Tainan $1,837

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Karachi versus $2,606 in Tainan.

Karachi $1,018
Tainan $2,606

Living in Karachi costs roughly 55% less than in Tainan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Tainan 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 PKR 588

$3.74 NT$121

-43.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.30 PKR 3,680

$24.62 NT$799

-45.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.45 PKR 1,508

$4.79 NT$155

13.78%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 PKR 607

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.24 PKR 2,005

Cappuccino

$2.09 PKR 579

$3.27 NT$106

-36.09%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.95 NT$30.66

-57.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 PKR 71.1

$0.63 NT$20.54

-58.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 NT$92.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 NT$113

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 PKR 254

$3.09 NT$100

-70.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 PKR 156

$1.77 NT$57.5

-68.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 PKR 345

$3.15 NT$102

-60.32%

Eggs

$1.23 PKR 341

$2.75 NT$89.3

-55.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.67 PKR 1,570

$19.50 NT$632

-70.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 PKR 876

$9.88 NT$320

-68.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.28 PKR 1,737

$21.04 NT$682

-70.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 348

$4.96 NT$161

-74.60%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 148

$2.86 NT$92.7

-81.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.00 PKR 276

$3.00 NT$97.4

-66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 154

$4.48 NT$145

-87.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 PKR 91.4

$2.66 NT$86.4

-87.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 95.1

$2.27 NT$73.6

-85.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 PKR 116

$1.71 NT$55.3

-75.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 121

$1.15 NT$37.31

-61.74%

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

$3.81 NT$124

-51.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.94 NT$452

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 NT$53.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 NT$70.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 77.0

$0.61 NT$19.68

-54.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.99 PKR 2,764

$33.89 NT$1,099

-70.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 PKR 256

$2.53 NT$82.2

-63.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 PKR 193

$0.77 NT$24.92

-9.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 PKR 597

$5.74 NT$186

-62.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 382

$1.01 NT$32.90

36.63%

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

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

$32.8K NT$1.1M

-45.43%

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

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

$24.1K NT$780.6K

12.52%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$87.2 NT$2,828

30.09%

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

$5.95 PKR 1,648

$17.51 NT$568

-66.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.16 PKR 3,642

$21.30 NT$691

-38.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.55 PKR 5,965

$45.65 NT$1,480

-52.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.23 PKR 5,044

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 PKR 1,165

$9.60 NT$311

-56.15%

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

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

$433 NT$14.1K

-87.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

$5,413 NT$175.5K

-64.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.55 PKR 4,858

$63.2 NT$2,050

-72.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.51 PKR 6,506

$39.20 NT$1,271

-40.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

$83.7 NT$2,716

-17.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

$103 NT$3,353

-60.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.7K

$297 NT$9,624

-60.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

$200 NT$6,470

-63.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$357 PKR 98.9K

$845 NT$27.4K

-57.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.0K

$696 NT$22.6K

-73.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

$4,123 NT$133.7K

-74.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 PKR 133.1K

$3,022 NT$98.0K

-84.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$183 PKR 50.6K

$1,376 NT$44.6K

-86.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

2.4

450.42%

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

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Last update for Tainan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.5%

Tainan

$126 11.8% 4.9% $6.5

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$101 21%

Tainan

$393 36.9% 289% $292

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$74 15.3%

Tainan

$200 18.7% 171% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14.1%

Tainan

$130 12.2% 92.4% $63

Eating Out

Karachi

$61 12.7%

Tainan

$111 10.4% 81.8% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.2%

Tainan

$65 6.1% 116% $35

Getting Around

Karachi

$16 3.2%

Tainan

$43 4% 175% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $118 in Karachi and $297 in Tainan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tainan pays 652% 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 $25.00 in Tainan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $393 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇹🇼 Tainan

🕒 Local time

07:51 7:51 AM

10:51 10:51 AM

3 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

1,886,033

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Karachi Tainan 5,370 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Karachi
Tainan

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 Tainan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karachi and Tainan differ by about 122% in total monthly costs ($482 vs $1,068 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 652% lower in Tainan. 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 $297 in Tainan. 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 $1,068 in Tainan – a 122% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 239% less than in Tainan. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $482 in Karachi versus $1,068 in Tainan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Tainan. 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 Tainan 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 122% less than in Tainan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.