Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Taipei City and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $1,211 in New Taipei City, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in New Taipei City
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New Taipei City Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

Jump to prices

New Taipei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,211

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,211 in New Taipei City versus $482 in Karachi.

New Taipei City $1,211
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,026 in New Taipei City versus $750 in Karachi.

New Taipei City $2,026
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,841 in New Taipei City versus $1,018 in Karachi.

New Taipei City $2,841
Karachi $1,018

Living in New Taipei City is roughly 151% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: New Taipei City 10% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.77 NT$155

$2.13 PKR 588

123.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.06 NT$1,007

$13.30 PKR 3,680

133.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.02 NT$163

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-7.89%

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

$2.27 NT$73.5

$2.09 PKR 579

8.61%

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

$0.88 NT$28.40

$0.40 PKR 111

120.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 NT$18.22

$0.26 PKR 71.1

115.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 NT$51.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 NT$83.4

Milk (1 liter)

$3.13 NT$102

$0.92 PKR 254

240.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.81 NT$58.6

$0.56 PKR 156

223.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 NT$70.5

$1.25 PKR 345

73.60%

Eggs

$2.20 NT$71.3

$1.23 PKR 341

78.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.39 NT$791

$5.67 PKR 1,570

330.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.58 NT$343

$3.16 PKR 876

234.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.26 NT$625

$6.28 PKR 1,737

206.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 NT$129

$1.26 PKR 348

216.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 NT$82.4

$0.53 PKR 148

379.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 NT$86.8

$1.00 PKR 276

168.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.98 NT$129

$0.56 PKR 154

610.71%

Potato (1kg)

$4.06 NT$132

$0.33 PKR 91.4

1130.30%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 NT$66.7

$0.34 PKR 95.1

505.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 NT$52.4

$0.42 PKR 116

283.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 NT$35.18

$0.44 PKR 121

145.45%

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)

$4.33 NT$140

$1.84 PKR 509

135.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.14 NT$296

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 NT$45.09

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 NT$78.4

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 NT$26.53

$0.28 PKR 77.0

192.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.86 NT$1,195

$9.99 PKR 2,764

268.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.82 NT$91.4

$0.92 PKR 256

206.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 NT$29.96

$0.70 PKR 193

31.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.46 NT$307

$2.16 PKR 597

337.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 NT$32.44

$1.38 PKR 382

-27.54%

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

$33.3K NT$1.1M

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

85.79%

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

$24.5K NT$793.2K

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-9.69%

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

$114 NT$3,682

$113 PKR 31.4K

0.07%

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

$16.72 NT$542

$5.95 PKR 1,648

181.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.01 NT$746

$13.16 PKR 3,642

74.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.40 NT$1,245

$21.55 PKR 5,965

78.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.04 NT$261

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-55.90%

Cinema Ticket

$12.49 NT$405

$4.21 PKR 1,165

196.67%

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

$639 NT$20.7K

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

1124.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K NT$696.7K

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

1007.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.61 NT$1,155

$17.55 PKR 4,858

102.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.90 NT$1,002

$23.51 PKR 6,506

31.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.5 NT$3,000

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

34.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 NT$3,247

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

146.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 NT$20.8K

$118 PKR 32.7K

443.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$348 NT$11.3K

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

372.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 NT$45.6K

$357 PKR 98.9K

293.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$927 NT$30.0K

$188 PKR 52.0K

393.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.4K NT$402.0K

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

1069.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,282 NT$236.1K

$481 PKR 133.1K

1414.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,418 NT$46.0K

$183 PKR 50.6K

675.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.81

13.21

-78.73%

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

Last update for New Taipei City: October 13, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

New Taipei City

$382 31.6%

Karachi

$101 21% 73.5% $281

Accommodation & Living

New Taipei City

$348 28.8%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 78.9% $275

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Taipei City

$153 12.7%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 13.5% $21

Clothing & Footwear

New Taipei City

$117 9.6%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 41.9% $49

Eating Out

New Taipei City

$99 8.2%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 38.4% $38

Sport & Entertainment

New Taipei City

$63 5.2%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 52.7% $33

Getting Around

New Taipei City

$48 3.9%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 67.4% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $641 in New Taipei City and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Taipei City pays 675% 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: $31.00 in New Taipei City vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $382 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 New Taipei City

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

06:54 6:54 AM

03:54 3:54 AM

3 h behind New Taipei City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,004,367

14,910,352

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

New Taipei City Karachi 5,440 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

New Taipei City
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

New Taipei City vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

New Taipei City and Karachi differ by about 151% in total monthly costs ($1,211 vs $482 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 675% higher in New Taipei City, 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: $641 in New Taipei City versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,211 per month in New Taipei City versus $482 in Karachi – a 151% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 269% less than in New Taipei City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $482 in Karachi versus $1,211 in New Taipei City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in New Taipei City. 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.

Safety-wise, New Taipei City 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 Karachi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 151% less than in New Taipei City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.