Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nanchang and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $648 in Nanchang, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. The total is higher in Nanchang despite lower rent and utilities.

32

Cost of Living Index in Nanchang
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Nanchang Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Nanchang

🇨🇳 China

$648

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $648 in Nanchang versus $482 in Karachi.

Nanchang $648
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,058 in Nanchang versus $750 in Karachi.

Nanchang $1,058
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,467 in Nanchang versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Nanchang $1,467
Karachi $1,018

Living in Nanchang is roughly 35% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Nanchang 52% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.35 ¥15.69

$2.13 PKR 588

10.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.21 ¥122

$13.30 PKR 3,678

36.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.81 ¥32.15

$5.45 PKR 1,507

-11.74%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 PKR 607

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.24 PKR 2,004

Cappuccino

$2.59 ¥17.27

$2.09 PKR 579

23.92%

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

$0.44 ¥2.92

$0.40 PKR 111

10.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.81

$0.26 PKR 71.1

3.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.31 ¥8.75

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ¥12.65

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 ¥13.69

$0.92 PKR 254

122.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.40 ¥16.06

$0.56 PKR 156

328.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.84 ¥5.64

$1.25 PKR 345

-32.80%

Eggs

$1.67 ¥11.14

$1.23 PKR 341

35.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.25 ¥88.5

$5.67 PKR 1,569

133.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.95 ¥26.42

$3.16 PKR 875

25.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.77 ¥78.6

$6.28 PKR 1,736

87.42%

Apples (1kg)

$1.99 ¥13.28

$1.26 PKR 348

57.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 ¥7.22

$0.53 PKR 147

103.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 ¥12.73

$1.00 PKR 276

91.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 ¥12.11

$0.56 PKR 154

223.21%

Potato (1kg)

$0.91 ¥6.10

$0.33 PKR 91.3

175.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 ¥7.53

$0.34 PKR 95.1

232.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ¥4.09

$0.42 PKR 116

45.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.89

$0.44 PKR 121

-2.27%

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)

$3.07 ¥20.49

$1.84 PKR 509

66.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.42 ¥83.0

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥5.20

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 ¥10.19

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ¥1.75

$0.28 PKR 77.0

-7.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.93 ¥99.7

$9.99 PKR 2,763

49.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 ¥8.26

$0.92 PKR 256

34.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$0.70 PKR 193

-55.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.29 ¥48.71

$2.16 PKR 596

237.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.33

$1.38 PKR 382

-9.42%

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

$19.1K ¥127.6K

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

6.71%

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

$17.9K ¥119.3K

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-34.09%

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

$34.93 ¥233

$113 PKR 31.4K

-69.21%

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

$9.27 ¥61.9

$5.95 PKR 1,647

55.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.34 ¥89.2

$13.16 PKR 3,640

1.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.85 ¥286

$21.55 PKR 5,962

98.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.61 ¥131

$18.23 PKR 5,041

7.57%

Cinema Ticket

$6.42 ¥42.88

$4.21 PKR 1,164

52.49%

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

$326 ¥2,175

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

524.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K ¥112.1K

$1,940 PKR 536.7K

764.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.86 ¥253

$17.55 PKR 4,855

115.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.07 ¥147

$23.51 PKR 6,502

-6.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.6 ¥585

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

27.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.7 ¥405

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

49.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 ¥1,492

$118 PKR 32.6K

89.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$118 ¥791

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

60.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$451 ¥3,011

$357 PKR 98.9K

26.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$257 ¥1,717

$188 PKR 52.0K

36.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,008 ¥13.4K

$1,060 PKR 293.2K

89.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,624 ¥10.9K

$481 PKR 133.0K

237.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$745 ¥4,980

$183 PKR 50.6K

307.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

13.21

-73.81%

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

Last update for Nanchang: 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

Nanchang

$227 35%

Karachi

$101 21% 55.4% $126

Accommodation & Living

Nanchang

$118 18.3%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 37.8% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Nanchang

$94 14.5%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 27.7% $26

Eating Out

Nanchang

$77 11.9%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 21.1% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nanchang

$58 8.9%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 130% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Nanchang

$56 8.6%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 46.2% $26

Getting Around

Nanchang

$19 2.9%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 17.3% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $223 in Nanchang and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nanchang pays 308% 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: $18.00 in Nanchang vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Nanchang

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

17:59 5:59 PM

14:59 2:59 PM

3 h behind Nanchang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,042,566

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 = 3.62 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 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 16, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.62 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Nanchang Karachi 4,830 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Nanchang
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

Nanchang vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nanchang and Karachi differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($648 vs $482 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 308% higher in Nanchang, 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: $223 in Nanchang versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $648 per month in Nanchang versus $482 in Karachi – a 35% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 49% less than in Nanchang. 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 35% less than in Nanchang. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.