Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karawang and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karawang: $453 a month against $482 in Karachi, rent and utilities included – about $350 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Karachi outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Karawang
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$453
/mo nomad
Karachi
🇵🇰 Pakistan
$482
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karawang and in Karachi

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Karawang and in Karachi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $453 in Karawang versus $482 in Karachi.

  • Karawang $453
  • Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $821 in Karawang versus $750 in Karachi.

  • Karawang $821
  • Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,188 in Karawang versus $1,018 in Karachi.

  • Karawang $1,188
  • Karachi $1,018

Living in Karawang costs roughly 6% less than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karawang 66% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$1.36 Rp 24.5K
$2.13 PKR 588
-36.15%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$11.11 Rp 200.0K
$13.30 PKR 3,680
-16.47%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.43 Rp 61.7K
$5.45 PKR 1,508
-37.06%
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
$1.52 Rp 27.3K
$2.09 PKR 579
-27.27%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.41 Rp 7,379
$0.40 PKR 111
2.50%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.20 Rp 3,668
$0.26 PKR 71.1
-23.08%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.09 Rp 55.6K
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.10 Rp 55.8K
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.13 Rp 20.4K
$0.92 PKR 254
22.83%
White Bread (500g)
$1.02 Rp 18.3K
$0.56 PKR 156
82.14%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.82 Rp 14.8K
$1.25 PKR 345
-34.40%
Eggs
$1.41 Rp 25.4K
$1.23 PKR 341
14.63%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$2.75 Rp 49.4K
$5.67 PKR 1,570
-51.50%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$2.93 Rp 52.8K
$3.16 PKR 876
-7.28%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$8.01 Rp 144.2K
$6.28 PKR 1,737
27.55%
Apples (1kg)
$1.82 Rp 32.8K
$1.26 PKR 348
44.44%
Banana (1kg)
$1.04 Rp 18.6K
$0.53 PKR 148
96.23%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.25 Rp 22.4K
$1.00 PKR 276
25.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.52 Rp 9,404
$0.56 PKR 154
-7.14%
Potato (1kg)
$0.89 Rp 16.1K
$0.33 PKR 91.4
169.70%
Onion (1kg)
$1.50 Rp 27.1K
$0.34 PKR 95.1
341.18%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.70 Rp 12.6K
$0.42 PKR 116
66.67%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.44 Rp 7,926
$0.44 PKR 121
-
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)
$2.65 Rp 47.7K
$1.84 PKR 509
44.02%
Wine (Bottle)
$22.50 Rp 405.0K
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.83 Rp 32.9K
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.23 Rp 58.1K
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.59 Rp 10.6K
$0.28 PKR 77.0
110.71%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$9.99 PKR 2,764
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.87 Rp 15.6K
$0.92 PKR 256
-5.43%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.51 Rp 9,216
$0.70 PKR 193
-27.14%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$1.14 Rp 20.4K
$2.16 PKR 597
-47.22%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.91 Rp 16.5K
$1.38 PKR 382
-34.06%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.5K Rp 387.0M
$17.9K PKR 5.0M
20.13%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$28.6K Rp 514.5M
$27.1K PKR 7.5M
5.54%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$34.09 Rp 613.6K
$113 PKR 31.4K
-69.95%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.43 Rp 79.7K
$5.95 PKR 1,648
-25.55%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$12.32 Rp 221.7K
$13.16 PKR 3,642
-6.38%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$20.52 Rp 369.4K
$21.55 PKR 5,965
-4.78%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.33 Rp 150.0K
$18.23 PKR 5,044
-54.31%
Cinema Ticket
$2.87 Rp 51.7K
$4.21 PKR 1,165
-31.83%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$43.73 Rp 787.2K
$52.2 PKR 14.4K
-16.15%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,398 Rp 151.2M
$1,940 PKR 537.0K
332.80%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$16.72 Rp 301.0K
$17.55 PKR 4,858
-4.73%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$27.84 Rp 501.2K
$23.51 PKR 6,506
18.42%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$49.09 Rp 883.6K
$68.9 PKR 19.1K
-28.72%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$48.42 Rp 871.6K
$40.59 PKR 11.2K
19.29%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$141 Rp 2.5M
$118 PKR 32.7K
19.73%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$68.4 Rp 1.2M
$73.6 PKR 20.4K
-7.09%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$535 Rp 9.6M
$357 PKR 98.9K
49.78%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$369 Rp 6.6M
$188 PKR 52.0K
96.60%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,178 Rp 21.2M
$1,060 PKR 293.4K
11.08%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$717 Rp 12.9M
$481 PKR 133.1K
49.10%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Karawang
Karachi
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$412 Rp 7.4M
$183 PKR 50.6K
125.02%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.38
13.21
-13.85%

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

Last update for Karawang: October 11, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Karawang
$175
Karachi
$101 42% $73
Accommodation & Living
Karawang
$68
Karachi
$74 7.6% $5.2
Clothing & Footwear
Karawang
$64
Karachi
$68 5.9% $3.8
Eating Out
Karawang
$64
Karachi
$61 3.8% $2.4
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Karawang
$51
Karachi
$133 161% $82
Sport & Entertainment
Karawang
$26
Karachi
$30 14.1% $3.7
Getting Around
Karawang
$5.8 *
Karachi
$16 168% $9.7

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 $141 in Karawang and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karawang pays 125% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $11.00 in Karawang vs $13.00 in Karachi. Groceries flip the comparison at $175 vs $101, with Karachi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇮🇩 Karawang
🇵🇰 Karachi
🕒 Local time
18:03 6:03 PM
16:03 4:03 PM
2 h behind Karawang
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
273,472
14,910,352
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

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

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Karawang Karachi 5,570 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Karawang
  • Karachi

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
Karawang vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Karawang and in Karachi?
Karawang and Karachi differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($453 vs $482 including rent). Karawang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Karawang or Karachi?
Average pay runs 125% higher in Karawang, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Karawang and in Karachi?
Rent for a central apartment: $141 in Karawang versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Shoppers in Karachi pay roughly 72% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
Which city is more expensive overall: Karawang or Karachi?
All in, you'll spend $453 per month in Karawang versus $482 in Karachi – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
How far does $800 go in Karawang compared to Karachi?
Either city works on $800 a month, though Karawang gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.
How does quality of life compare between Karawang and Karachi?
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.
Is Karawang or Karachi safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Karawang and Karachi are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Where should expats move: Karawang or Karachi?
Expats usually find Karawang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Karachi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Karawang vs other spots: cost of living compared

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