Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Koh Lipe and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $490 a month against $2,083 in Koh Lipe, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Koh Lipe
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Koh Lipe Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Koh Lipe

🇹🇭 Thailand

$2,083

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$490

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,083 in Koh Lipe versus $490 in Karachi.

Koh Lipe $2,083
Karachi $490

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,633 in Koh Lipe versus $755 in Karachi.

Koh Lipe $3,633
Karachi $755

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,183 in Koh Lipe versus $1,019 in Karachi.

Koh Lipe $5,183
Karachi $1,019

Living in Koh Lipe is roughly 325% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Koh Lipe is 55% above, Karachi is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.32 ฿245

$2.15 PKR 596

240.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.6 ฿1,761

$13.37 PKR 3,700

293.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.01 ฿469

$5.29 PKR 1,464

164.84%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 PKR 606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.25 PKR 2,005

Cappuccino

$4.35 ฿146

$2.11 PKR 583

106.16%

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

$1.50 ฿50.2

$0.37 PKR 103

305.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 ฿26.36

$0.28 PKR 78.2

182.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.04 ฿135

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.80 ฿194

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 ฿71.8

$0.86 PKR 238

148.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 ฿57.9

$0.52 PKR 144

232.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 ฿66.0

$1.24 PKR 344

58.87%

Eggs

$2.69 ฿90.0

$1.24 PKR 342

116.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.13 ฿808

$5.86 PKR 1,622

311.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.12 ฿138

$3.12 PKR 862

32.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 ฿467

$6.25 PKR 1,731

123.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.69 ฿124

$1.29 PKR 356

186.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 ฿68.1

$0.54 PKR 150

275.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 ฿94.5

$0.99 PKR 273

184.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 ฿85.7

$0.56 PKR 155

357.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.80 ฿60.4

$0.33 PKR 91.6

445.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 ฿57.4

$0.35 PKR 95.9

388.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ฿46.15

$0.45 PKR 124

206.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 ฿21.26

$0.44 PKR 121

45.45%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.23 PKR 341

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 PKR 381

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 PKR 676

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.45 ฿182

$1.79 PKR 497

204.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.53 ฿788

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 ฿72.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 ฿116

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.43 ฿115

$0.28 PKR 76.5

1125.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.68 PKR 2,679

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.50 ฿151

$0.92 PKR 255

389.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 ฿53.2

$0.71 PKR 196

123.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.78 ฿194

$2.22 PKR 615

160.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 ฿72.7

$1.35 PKR 372

60.74%

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

$40.8K ฿1.4M

$17.8K PKR 4.9M

128.93%

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

$39.7K ฿1.3M

$26.7K PKR 7.4M

48.46%

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

$113 ฿3,775

$112 PKR 30.9K

0.85%

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

$12.76 ฿427

$6.05 PKR 1,673

110.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.37 ฿649

$13.29 PKR 3,679

45.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 ฿2,171

$21.51 PKR 5,954

201.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.63 ฿456

$17.80 PKR 4,927

-23.43%

Cinema Ticket

$9.39 ฿314

$4.42 PKR 1,222

112.44%

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

$690 ฿23.1K

$50.7 PKR 14.0K

1259.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K ฿485.7K

$1,957 PKR 541.6K

641.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.9 ฿2,238

$17.57 PKR 4,862

280.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.89 ฿1,001

$22.78 PKR 6,304

31.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 ฿3,329

$67.6 PKR 18.7K

47.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.6 ฿3,099

$40.97 PKR 11.3K

125.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,850 ฿61.9K

$117 PKR 32.5K

1478.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ฿39.2K

$75.7 PKR 21.0K

1445.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,267 ฿176.3K

$365 PKR 101.1K

1342.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,976 ฿99.6K

$182 PKR 50.5K

1531.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,743 ฿292.7K

$1,054 PKR 291.6K

729.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 ฿212.8K

$491 PKR 135.8K

1195.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 PKR 51.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

13.21

-57.83%

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

Last update for Koh Lipe: October 4, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Koh Lipe

$1.2K 56.2%

Karachi

$76 15.7% 93.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Koh Lipe

$334 16%

Karachi

$101 20.9% 69.8% $233

Eating Out

Koh Lipe

$194 9.3%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 68.5% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Koh Lipe

$145 7%

Karachi

$131 27.3% 9.5% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Koh Lipe

$130 6.2%

Karachi

$67 13.9% 48.4% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Koh Lipe

$84 4%

Karachi

$30 6.3% 63.7% $53

Getting Around

Koh Lipe

$26 * 1.3%

Karachi

$15 3.2% 41.7% $11

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 $1,850 in Koh Lipe and $117 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $53.0 in Koh Lipe vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $334 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Koh Lipe

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

10:15 10:15 AM

08:15 8:15 AM

2 h behind Koh Lipe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

800

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Koh Lipe Karachi 3,990 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Koh Lipe
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

Koh Lipe vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Koh Lipe and Karachi differ by about 325% in total monthly costs ($2,083 vs $490 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,124 in Koh Lipe and $735 in Karachi 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: $1,850 in Koh Lipe versus $117 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 231% higher in Koh Lipe. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,083 per month in Koh Lipe versus $490 in Karachi – a 325% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $490 in Karachi versus $2,083 in Koh Lipe, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Koh Lipe. 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, Koh Lipe 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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 325% less than in Koh Lipe. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.