Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lucknow and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Lucknow: $396 a month against $495 in Karachi, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in Lucknow
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Lucknow Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index

Jump to prices

Lucknow

🇮🇳 India

$396

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$495

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $396 in Lucknow versus $495 in Karachi.

Lucknow $396
Karachi $495

Estimated couple costs with rent: $621 in Lucknow versus $770 in Karachi.

Lucknow $621
Karachi $770

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $846 in Lucknow versus $1,046 in Karachi.

Lucknow $846
Karachi $1,046

Living in Lucknow costs roughly 20% less than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lucknow 71% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.86 ₹176

$2.21 PKR 610

-15.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.62 ₹1,009

$12.87 PKR 3,562

-17.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.23 ₹307

$5.27 PKR 1,459

-38.71%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 PKR 598

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.36 PKR 2,036

Cappuccino

$1.57 ₹149

$2.16 PKR 598

-27.31%

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

$0.44 ₹41.97

$0.38 PKR 106

15.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 ₹12.29

$0.25 PKR 69.3

-48.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.56 ₹148

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₹214

Milk (1 liter)

$0.70 ₹66.6

$0.90 PKR 248

-22.22%

White Bread (500g)

$0.47 ₹44.92

$0.52 PKR 143

-9.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.59 ₹55.9

$1.20 PKR 331

-50.83%

Eggs

$1.02 ₹96.4

$1.25 PKR 346

-18.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.32 ₹315

$5.82 PKR 1,611

-42.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.51 ₹239

$3.11 PKR 860

-19.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.53 PKR 1,807

Apples (1kg)

$1.79 ₹170

$1.28 PKR 354

39.84%

Banana (1kg)

$0.66 ₹63.1

$0.54 PKR 149

22.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.96 ₹91.0

$1.02 PKR 283

-5.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 ₹44.75

$0.56 PKR 155

-16.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.30 ₹28.11

$0.34 PKR 94.9

-11.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 ₹39.45

$0.31 PKR 87.0

35.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 ₹39.88

$0.41 PKR 113

2.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ₹28.36

$0.43 PKR 120

-30.23%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.28 PKR 355

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 PKR 368

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 PKR 678

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.90 ₹465

$1.78 PKR 492

175.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.57 ₹814

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 ₹158

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 ₹249

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$5.72 ₹543

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 ₹41.10

$0.28 PKR 77.1

53.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.07 ₹861

$11.70 PKR 3,237

-22.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.98 ₹93.4

$0.92 PKR 254

6.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 ₹18.95

$0.73 PKR 203

-72.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₹108

$2.22 PKR 615

-48.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 ₹108

$1.33 PKR 369

-14.29%

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

$11.1K ₹1.1M

$18.3K PKR 5.1M

-39.16%

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

$22.0K ₹2.1M

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

-16.67%

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

$54.2 ₹5,149

$112 PKR 31.0K

-51.65%

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

$3.74 ₹356

$5.99 PKR 1,656

-37.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.66 ₹822

$13.18 PKR 3,648

-34.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.88 ₹1,508

$24.67 PKR 6,825

-35.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.69 ₹635

$18.29 PKR 5,061

-63.42%

Cinema Ticket

$3.20 ₹304

$4.34 PKR 1,201

-26.27%

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

$38.90 ₹3,693

$67.2 PKR 18.6K

-42.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$979 ₹92.9K

$1,915 PKR 529.8K

-48.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.41 ₹2,223

$17.61 PKR 4,873

32.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.07 ₹2,381

$22.03 PKR 6,096

13.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$38.75 ₹3,679

$68.3 PKR 18.9K

-43.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$25.60 ₹2,431

$40.66 PKR 11.3K

-37.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ₹12.6K

$136 PKR 37.6K

-2.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$87.7 ₹8,324

$82.2 PKR 22.7K

6.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$356 ₹33.8K

$392 PKR 108.5K

-9.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 ₹20.1K

$207 PKR 57.2K

2.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,124 ₹106.7K

$1,046 PKR 289.5K

7.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$606 ₹57.5K

$482 PKR 133.2K

25.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$331 ₹31.5K

$184 PKR 51.0K

79.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.53

13.21

-35.43%

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

Last update for Lucknow: October 25, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lucknow

$98 24.7%

Karachi

$102 20.5% 4.1% $4

Accommodation & Living

Lucknow

$88 22.2%

Karachi

$82 16.6% 6.3% $5.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lucknow

$67 16.8%

Karachi

$131 26.6% 97.1% $65

Eating Out

Lucknow

$58 14.7%

Karachi

$62 12.5% 6.7% $3.9

Clothing & Footwear

Lucknow

$51 12.8%

Karachi

$67 13.5% 31.7% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Lucknow

$22 5.6%

Karachi

$33 6.7% 49.7% $11

Getting Around

Lucknow

$13 3.2%

Karachi

$17 3.5% 36.2% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Lucknow and $136 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lucknow pays 80% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $11 in Lucknow vs $13 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $98 vs $102 per month, with Lucknow cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Lucknow

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

13:23 1:23 PM

12:53 12:53 PM

30 min behind Lucknow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,588,455

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 94.95 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 309 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lucknow Karachi 1,410 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lucknow
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

Lucknow vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $396 in Lucknow and $495 in Karachi, so Lucknow is about 20% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 80% higher in Lucknow, 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: $133 in Lucknow versus $136 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $396 per month in Lucknow versus $495 in Karachi – Lucknow is about 20% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Lucknow runs roughly 22% less than in Karachi. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Lucknow 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.