Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lanzhou and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $719 in Lanzhou, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Lanzhou
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Lanzhou Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Lanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$719

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $719 in Lanzhou versus $482 in Karachi.

Lanzhou $719
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,143 in Lanzhou versus $750 in Karachi.

Lanzhou $1,143
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,567 in Lanzhou versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Lanzhou $1,567
Karachi $1,018

Living in Lanzhou is roughly 49% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lanzhou 47% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.06 ¥13.80

$2.13 PKR 588

-3.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.34 ¥189

$13.30 PKR 3,680

113.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.86 ¥39.15

$5.45 PKR 1,508

7.52%

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

$3.12 ¥20.89

$2.09 PKR 579

49.28%

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

$0.48 ¥3.19

$0.40 PKR 111

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$0.26 PKR 71.1

11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.10 ¥7.35

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ¥13.54

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 ¥11.81

$0.92 PKR 254

92.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ¥10.75

$0.56 PKR 156

187.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.40

$1.25 PKR 345

-23.20%

Eggs

$1.60 ¥10.72

$1.23 PKR 341

30.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.22 ¥88.4

$5.67 PKR 1,570

133.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.43 ¥22.92

$3.16 PKR 876

8.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.11 ¥81.0

$6.28 PKR 1,737

92.83%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 ¥12.09

$1.26 PKR 348

43.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 ¥8.56

$0.53 PKR 148

141.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 ¥9.97

$1.00 PKR 276

49.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.24 ¥8.32

$0.56 PKR 154

121.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 ¥4.70

$0.33 PKR 91.4

112.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$0.34 PKR 95.1

173.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 ¥3.99

$0.42 PKR 116

42.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.70

$0.44 PKR 121

25.00%

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)

$3.77 ¥25.19

$1.84 PKR 509

104.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.52 ¥77.0

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥5.52

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ¥10.25

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$0.28 PKR 77.0

3.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.07 ¥121

$9.99 PKR 2,764

80.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.48 ¥9.91

$0.92 PKR 256

60.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 ¥2.17

$0.70 PKR 193

-54.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.12 ¥47.58

$2.16 PKR 597

229.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 ¥9.73

$1.38 PKR 382

5.80%

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

$17.5K ¥117.2K

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

-2.05%

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

$15.0K ¥100.4K

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-44.58%

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

$58.0 ¥388

$113 PKR 31.4K

-48.87%

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

$8.79 ¥58.8

$5.95 PKR 1,648

47.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.18 ¥74.8

$13.16 PKR 3,642

-15.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.33 ¥283

$21.55 PKR 5,965

96.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.69 ¥98.2

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-19.42%

Cinema Ticket

$6.29 ¥42.06

$4.21 PKR 1,165

49.41%

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

$412 ¥2,756

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

690.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K ¥117.6K

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

806.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.85 ¥287

$17.55 PKR 4,858

144.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.44 ¥224

$23.51 PKR 6,506

42.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.6 ¥505

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

9.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.1 ¥495

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

82.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$295 ¥1,971

$118 PKR 32.7K

149.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 ¥1,126

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

128.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$626 ¥4,186

$357 PKR 98.9K

75.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$297 ¥1,986

$188 PKR 52.0K

58.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,671 ¥17.9K

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

151.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,611 ¥10.8K

$481 PKR 133.1K

235.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$953 ¥6,375

$183 PKR 50.6K

421.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

-77.29%

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

Last update for Lanzhou: October 13, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lanzhou

$209 29.1%

Karachi

$101 21% 51.6% $108

Accommodation & Living

Lanzhou

$168 23.4%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 56.3% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Lanzhou

$102 14.2%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 33.4% $34

Eating Out

Lanzhou

$84 11.7%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 27.4% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lanzhou

$78 10.9%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 70% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Lanzhou

$55 7.6%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 45.4% $25

Getting Around

Lanzhou

$22 3.1%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 30.5% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $295 in Lanzhou and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lanzhou pays 421% 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: $28.00 in Lanzhou vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $209 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Lanzhou

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

14:21 2:21 PM

11:21 11:21 AM

3 h behind Lanzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,688,400

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Lanzhou Karachi 3,720 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lanzhou
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

Lanzhou vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lanzhou and Karachi differ by about 49% in total monthly costs ($719 vs $482 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 421% higher in Lanzhou, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $295 in Lanzhou versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $719 per month in Lanzhou versus $482 in Karachi – a 49% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 81% less than in Lanzhou. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Karachi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Lanzhou. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.