Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nantong and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $750 in Nantong, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Nantong
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Nantong Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Nantong

🇨🇳 China

$750

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $750 in Nantong versus $482 in Karachi.

Nantong $750
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,237 in Nantong versus $750 in Karachi.

Nantong $1,237
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,725 in Nantong versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Nantong $1,725
Karachi $1,018

Living in Nantong is roughly 56% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Nantong 44% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.01 ¥20.15

$2.13 PKR 588

41.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.57 ¥158

$13.30 PKR 3,680

77.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.43 ¥29.64

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-18.72%

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

$2.79 ¥18.69

$2.09 PKR 579

33.49%

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

$0.63 ¥4.23

$0.40 PKR 111

57.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ¥2.23

$0.26 PKR 71.1

26.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.72 ¥4.84

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 ¥14.56

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 ¥10.76

$0.92 PKR 254

75.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 ¥10.19

$0.56 PKR 156

171.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.79 ¥5.26

$1.25 PKR 345

-36.80%

Eggs

$1.73 ¥11.55

$1.23 PKR 341

40.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.67 ¥44.59

$5.67 PKR 1,570

17.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.69 ¥24.66

$3.16 PKR 876

16.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.37 ¥69.3

$6.28 PKR 1,737

65.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 ¥15.37

$1.26 PKR 348

82.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 ¥9.34

$0.53 PKR 148

164.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.52 ¥10.14

$1.00 PKR 276

52.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.46 ¥9.78

$0.56 PKR 154

160.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ¥4.51

$0.33 PKR 91.4

103.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 ¥6.04

$0.34 PKR 95.1

164.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.46

$0.42 PKR 116

59.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ¥3.37

$0.44 PKR 121

13.64%

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)

$3.44 ¥23.00

$1.84 PKR 509

86.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.14 ¥61.1

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥4.97

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 ¥11.06

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 ¥1.40

$0.28 PKR 77.0

-25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.73 ¥98.5

$9.99 PKR 2,764

47.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 ¥12.89

$0.92 PKR 256

109.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 ¥2.55

$0.70 PKR 193

-45.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.00 ¥46.78

$2.16 PKR 597

224.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 ¥8.07

$1.38 PKR 382

-12.32%

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

$19.6K ¥131.1K

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

9.57%

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

$18.8K ¥125.8K

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-30.52%

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

$47.85 ¥320

$113 PKR 31.4K

-57.82%

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

$7.48 ¥50.0

$5.95 PKR 1,648

25.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.96 ¥100

$13.16 PKR 3,642

13.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$114 ¥763

$21.55 PKR 5,965

429.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.96 ¥80.0

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-34.39%

Cinema Ticket

$7.68 ¥51.3

$4.21 PKR 1,165

82.42%

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

$203 ¥1,356

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

288.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K ¥80.1K

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

517.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.0 ¥388

$17.55 PKR 4,858

230.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.62 ¥285

$23.51 PKR 6,506

81.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.3 ¥443

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

-3.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 ¥736

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

171.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 ¥1,422

$118 PKR 32.7K

80.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$142 ¥946

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

92.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$696 ¥4,656

$357 PKR 98.9K

94.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$354 ¥2,367

$188 PKR 52.0K

88.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,720 ¥24.9K

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

250.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,249 ¥15.0K

$481 PKR 133.1K

367.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,289 ¥8,622

$183 PKR 50.6K

604.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

13.21

-73.50%

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

Last update for Nantong: October 10, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Nantong

$182 24.3%

Karachi

$101 21% 44.4% $81

Accommodation & Living

Nantong

$142 18.9%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 48% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Nantong

$130 17.3%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 76.9% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Nantong

$125 16.6%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 45.7% $57

Eating Out

Nantong

$83 11%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 26.2% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nantong

$70 9.4%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 88.6% $62

Getting Around

Nantong

$19 2.6%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 20% $3.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $213 in Nantong and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nantong pays 605% 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: $24.00 in Nantong vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $182 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Nantong

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

23:12 11:12 PM

20:12 8:12 PM

3 h behind Nantong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,726,635

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 19, 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 19, 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

Nantong Karachi 5,270 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Nantong
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

Nantong vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nantong and Karachi differ by about 56% in total monthly costs ($750 vs $482 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 605% higher in Nantong, 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: $213 in Nantong versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $750 per month in Nantong versus $482 in Karachi – a 56% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 47% less than in Nantong. 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 56% less than in Nantong. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.