Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karachi and Zhubei City

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $1,055 in Zhubei City, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Zhubei City
Learn more

Zhubei City Living Index

Jump to prices

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,055

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $482 in Karachi versus $1,055 in Zhubei City.

Karachi $482
Zhubei City $1,055

Estimated couple costs with rent: $750 in Karachi versus $1,841 in Zhubei City.

Karachi $750
Zhubei City $1,841

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Karachi versus $2,627 in Zhubei City.

Karachi $1,018
Zhubei City $2,627

Living in Karachi costs roughly 54% less than in Zhubei City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karachi 64% lower, Zhubei City 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.13 PKR 588

$4.83 NT$157

-55.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.30 PKR 3,680

$28.00 NT$908

-52.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.45 PKR 1,508

$5.07 NT$164

7.50%

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

$2.89 NT$93.8

-27.68%

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

$0.40 PKR 111

$0.91 NT$29.41

-56.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 PKR 71.1

$0.59 NT$19.02

-55.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.93 NT$62.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 NT$75.6

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 PKR 254

$2.79 NT$90.4

-67.03%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 PKR 156

$1.87 NT$60.7

-70.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 PKR 345

$4.59 NT$149

-72.77%

Eggs

$1.23 PKR 341

$2.85 NT$92.5

-56.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.67 PKR 1,570

$24.76 NT$803

-77.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 PKR 876

$8.37 NT$271

-62.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.28 PKR 1,737

$25.93 NT$841

-75.78%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 348

$4.04 NT$131

-68.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 PKR 148

$2.42 NT$78.5

-78.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.00 PKR 276

$2.69 NT$87.3

-62.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 154

$3.27 NT$106

-82.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 PKR 91.4

$3.02 NT$97.9

-89.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 PKR 95.1

$2.02 NT$65.5

-83.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 PKR 116

$2.06 NT$66.9

-79.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 PKR 121

$1.33 NT$43.25

-66.92%

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

$3.88 NT$126

-52.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.23 NT$299

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 NT$46.36

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 NT$75.4

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PKR 77.0

$0.61 NT$19.85

-54.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.99 PKR 2,764

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 PKR 256

$3.10 NT$101

-70.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 PKR 193

$0.64 NT$20.76

9.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 PKR 597

$9.25 NT$300

-76.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 PKR 382

$0.99 NT$32.17

39.39%

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

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

$33.5K NT$1.1M

-46.52%

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

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

$24.8K NT$805.7K

9.00%

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

$113 PKR 31.4K

$103 NT$3,331

10.46%

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

$5.95 PKR 1,648

$18.96 NT$615

-68.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.16 PKR 3,642

$22.80 NT$739

-42.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.55 PKR 5,965

$31.40 NT$1,018

-31.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.23 PKR 5,044

Cinema Ticket

$4.21 PKR 1,165

$9.99 NT$324

-57.86%

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

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

$646 NT$20.9K

-91.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

$16.5K NT$533.8K

-88.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.55 PKR 4,858

$57.7 NT$1,870

-69.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.51 PKR 6,506

$31.13 NT$1,010

-24.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

$90.8 NT$2,946

-24.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

$99.0 NT$3,209

-58.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$118 PKR 32.7K

$501 NT$16.2K

-76.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

$217 NT$7,032

-66.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$357 PKR 98.9K

$1,100 NT$35.7K

-67.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 PKR 52.0K

$768 NT$24.9K

-75.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

$16.2K NT$525.9K

-93.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 PKR 133.1K

$9,751 NT$316.2K

-95.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$183 PKR 50.6K

$2,391 NT$77.5K

-92.35%

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 Zhubei City: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karachi

$133 27.5%

Zhubei City

$144 13.7% 9% $12

Groceries & Markets

Karachi

$101 21%

Zhubei City

$400 37.9% 295% $298

Accommodation & Living

Karachi

$74 15.3%

Zhubei City

$217 20.6% 195% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Karachi

$68 14.1%

Zhubei City

$125 11.9% 85.1% $58

Eating Out

Karachi

$61 12.7%

Zhubei City

$109 10.3% 78.1% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Karachi

$30 6.2%

Zhubei City

$51 4.9% 71.4% $21

Getting Around

Karachi

$16 3.2%

Zhubei City

$8.8 * 0.8% 43.6% $6.8

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 $501 in Zhubei City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhubei City pays 1207% 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 $28.00 in Zhubei City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $400 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Karachi

🇹🇼 Zhubei City

🕒 Local time

03:34 3:34 AM

06:34 6:34 AM

3 h ahead of Karachi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,910,352

211,746

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Zhubei City 5,410 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Karachi and Zhubei City differ by about 119% in total monthly costs ($482 vs $1,055 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1207% lower in Zhubei 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 $501 in Zhubei City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 295% higher in Zhubei City. 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 $1,055 in Zhubei City – a 119% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $482 in Karachi versus $1,055 in Zhubei City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Zhubei 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 Zhubei 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 119% less than in Zhubei City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.