Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malang and Karachi

For one person, living costs are similar in Malang and in Karachi: $474 and $482 a month, rent and utilities included.

23

Cost of Living Index in Malang
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Malang Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Malang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$474

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $474 in Malang versus $482 in Karachi.

Malang $474
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $729 in Malang versus $750 in Karachi.

Malang $729
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $984 in Malang versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Malang $984
Karachi $1,018

Living in Malang costs roughly 2% less than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Malang 65% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.11 Rp 19.9K

$2.13 PKR 588

-47.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.07 Rp 199.2K

$13.30 PKR 3,680

-16.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.76 Rp 49.7K

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-49.36%

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

$1.34 Rp 24.1K

$2.09 PKR 579

-35.89%

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

$0.60 Rp 10.8K

$0.40 PKR 111

50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 Rp 4,146

$0.26 PKR 71.1

-11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 Rp 41.1K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 Rp 76.6K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

$0.92 PKR 254

7.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 Rp 20.2K

$0.56 PKR 156

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.2K

$1.25 PKR 345

-32.80%

Eggs

$1.24 Rp 22.4K

$1.23 PKR 341

0.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.89 Rp 106.0K

$5.67 PKR 1,570

3.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.09 Rp 55.6K

$3.16 PKR 876

-2.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.20 Rp 129.7K

$6.28 PKR 1,737

14.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 Rp 36.3K

$1.26 PKR 348

60.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$0.53 PKR 148

139.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 Rp 28.4K

$1.00 PKR 276

58.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 Rp 25.7K

$0.56 PKR 154

155.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.4K

$0.33 PKR 91.4

293.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 Rp 34.6K

$0.34 PKR 95.1

464.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 Rp 8,439

$0.42 PKR 116

11.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 Rp 7,580

$0.44 PKR 121

-4.55%

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)

$12.47 Rp 224.5K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 Rp 30.1K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 Rp 53.9K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 Rp 10.7K

$0.28 PKR 77.0

114.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.61 Rp 100.9K

$9.99 PKR 2,764

-43.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.48 Rp 8,631

$0.92 PKR 256

-47.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 Rp 7,244

$0.70 PKR 193

-42.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 Rp 98.1K

$2.16 PKR 597

152.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.74 Rp 13.3K

$1.38 PKR 382

-46.38%

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

$24.9K Rp 448.9M

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

39.35%

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

$27.7K Rp 498.8M

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

2.32%

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

$30.83 Rp 555.0K

$113 PKR 31.4K

-72.83%

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

$2.41 Rp 43.3K

$5.95 PKR 1,648

-59.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.51 Rp 351.1K

$13.16 PKR 3,642

48.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.68 Rp 264.3K

$21.55 PKR 5,965

-31.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.47 Rp 80.5K

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-75.48%

Cinema Ticket

$1.92 Rp 34.5K

$4.21 PKR 1,165

-54.39%

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

$30.88 Rp 555.9K

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

-40.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,452 Rp 170.1M

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

387.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.4 Rp 1.0M

$17.55 PKR 4,858

221.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.41 Rp 403.4K

$23.51 PKR 6,506

-4.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.9 Rp 934.9K

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

-24.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.74 Rp 643.3K

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

-11.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$136 Rp 2.5M

$118 PKR 32.7K

15.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$91.5 Rp 1.6M

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

24.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$193 Rp 3.5M

$357 PKR 98.9K

-45.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$156 Rp 2.8M

$188 PKR 52.0K

-16.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 PKR 133.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$203 Rp 3.7M

$183 PKR 50.6K

11.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.21

-69.72%

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

Last update for Malang: October 12, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Malang

$169 35.7%

Karachi

$101 21% 40.2% $68

Accommodation & Living

Malang

$92 19.3%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 19.6% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Malang

$75 15.8%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 9.6% $7.2

Eating Out

Malang

$56 11.9%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 8.3% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malang

$53 11.1%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 151% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Malang

$19 3.9%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 61.8% $11

Getting Around

Malang

$10 2.2%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 48.1% $5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $136 in Malang and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Malang pays 11% 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 Malang vs $13.00 in Karachi. Groceries flip the comparison at $169 vs $101, with Karachi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Malang

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

08:44 8:44 AM

06:44 6:44 AM

2 h behind Malang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

857,891

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,268 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 312 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Malang Karachi 6,140 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Malang
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

Malang vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Malang and Karachi differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($474 vs $482 including rent). Malang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Malang, 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: $136 in Malang versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $474 per month in Malang versus $482 in Karachi – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Malang runs roughly 78% less than in Karachi. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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

Safety-wise, Malang 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 Malang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Karachi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.