Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $490 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $43,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$490

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $490 in Karachi.

London $4,086
Karachi $490

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $755 in Karachi.

London $5,816
Karachi $755

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $1,019 in Karachi.

London $7,546
Karachi $1,019

Living in London is roughly 734% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Karachi is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$2.15 PKR 596

1138.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$13.37 PKR 3,700

704.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$5.29 PKR 1,464

96.41%

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

$5.79 £4.38

$2.11 PKR 583

174.41%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.37 PKR 103

713.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.28 PKR 78.2

667.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.86 PKR 238

108.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.52 PKR 144

296.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.24 PKR 344

86.29%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.24 PKR 342

307.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$5.86 PKR 1,622

114.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$3.12 PKR 862

241.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$6.25 PKR 1,731

174.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.29 PKR 356

134.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.54 PKR 150

161.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$0.99 PKR 273

208.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$0.56 PKR 155

503.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.33 PKR 91.6

406.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.35 PKR 95.9

394.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.45 PKR 124

213.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.44 PKR 121

306.82%

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)

$23.22 £17.55

$1.79 PKR 497

1197.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.28 PKR 76.5

1282.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$9.68 PKR 2,679

2483.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$0.92 PKR 255

520.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.71 PKR 196

369.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$2.22 PKR 615

2508.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.35 PKR 372

51.11%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$17.8K PKR 4.9M

110.48%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$26.7K PKR 7.4M

52.94%

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

$376 £284

$112 PKR 30.9K

236.40%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$6.05 PKR 1,673

195.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$13.29 PKR 3,679

201.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$21.51 PKR 5,954

184.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$17.80 PKR 4,927

18.37%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$4.42 PKR 1,222

306.11%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$50.7 PKR 14.0K

5548.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$1,957 PKR 541.6K

1706.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$17.57 PKR 4,862

560.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$22.78 PKR 6,304

137.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$67.6 PKR 18.7K

87.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$40.97 PKR 11.3K

288.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$117 PKR 32.5K

2333.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$75.7 PKR 21.0K

2939.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$365 PKR 101.1K

1324.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$182 PKR 50.5K

1941.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$1,054 PKR 291.6K

1704.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$491 PKR 135.8K

1506.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$185 PKR 51.2K

2506.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

13.21

-64.80%

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

Last update for London: 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

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Karachi

$76 15.7% 96.7% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Karachi

$131 27.3% 69.8% $303

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 84.6% $336

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Karachi

$101 20.9% 71.2% $249

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Karachi

$15 3.2% 94.7% $273

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Karachi

$67 13.9% 67.3% $138

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Karachi

$30 6.3% 68.7% $67

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $117 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 2506% 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: $108 in London vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

06:31 6:31 AM

10:31 10:31 AM

4 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

14,910,352

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Karachi 6,310 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

London vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Karachi differ by about 734% in total monthly costs ($4,086 vs $490 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2506% higher in London, 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: $2,853 in London versus $117 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $4,086 per month in London versus $490 in Karachi – a 734% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 2483% less than in London. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $490 in Karachi versus $4,086 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in London. 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.

Expats usually find Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 734% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.