Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Padang and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $620 in Padang, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Padang
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Padang Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Padang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$620

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $620 in Padang versus $482 in Karachi.

Padang $620
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $996 in Padang versus $750 in Karachi.

Padang $996
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,372 in Padang versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Padang $1,372
Karachi $1,018

Living in Padang is roughly 29% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Padang 54% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.64 Rp 29.6K

$2.13 PKR 588

-23.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.72 Rp 283.0K

$13.30 PKR 3,680

18.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.92 Rp 52.5K

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-46.42%

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

$1.44 Rp 26.0K

$2.09 PKR 579

-31.10%

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

$0.41 Rp 7,394

$0.40 PKR 111

2.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.22 Rp 3,925

$0.26 PKR 71.1

-15.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 Rp 38.6K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 Rp 67.3K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 Rp 20.5K

$0.92 PKR 254

23.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 Rp 18.7K

$0.56 PKR 156

85.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.96 Rp 17.4K

$1.25 PKR 345

-23.20%

Eggs

$1.49 Rp 26.8K

$1.23 PKR 341

21.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.82 Rp 122.8K

$5.67 PKR 1,570

20.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.88 Rp 51.8K

$3.16 PKR 876

-8.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.49 Rp 116.9K

$6.28 PKR 1,737

3.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 Rp 45.2K

$1.26 PKR 348

99.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.4K

$0.53 PKR 148

133.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 Rp 31.2K

$1.00 PKR 276

73.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.4K

$0.56 PKR 154

121.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$0.33 PKR 91.4

248.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 Rp 33.2K

$0.34 PKR 95.1

441.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$0.42 PKR 116

90.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 Rp 7,241

$0.44 PKR 121

-9.09%

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)

$2.72 Rp 48.9K

$1.84 PKR 509

47.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.21 Rp 381.7K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 Rp 31.1K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 Rp 59.1K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 Rp 5,254

$0.28 PKR 77.0

3.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.99 PKR 2,764

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.52 Rp 9,417

$0.92 PKR 256

-43.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 Rp 6,239

$0.70 PKR 193

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.77 Rp 49.8K

$2.16 PKR 597

28.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 Rp 17.0K

$1.38 PKR 382

-31.16%

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

$20.4K Rp 366.6M

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

13.79%

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

$32.7K Rp 588.6M

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

20.75%

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

$67.6 Rp 1.2M

$113 PKR 31.4K

-40.42%

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

$4.97 Rp 89.5K

$5.95 PKR 1,648

-16.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.99 Rp 377.8K

$13.16 PKR 3,642

59.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.55 Rp 351.9K

$21.55 PKR 5,965

-9.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.88 Rp 159.9K

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-51.29%

Cinema Ticket

$2.60 Rp 46.7K

$4.21 PKR 1,165

-38.24%

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

$80.4 Rp 1.4M

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

54.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,325 Rp 149.8M

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

329.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.73 Rp 769.2K

$17.55 PKR 4,858

143.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.93 Rp 484.8K

$23.51 PKR 6,506

14.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.8 Rp 1.1M

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

-7.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.4 Rp 1.3M

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

78.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$206 Rp 3.7M

$118 PKR 32.7K

74.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$154 Rp 2.8M

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

108.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 Rp 8.9M

$357 PKR 98.9K

38.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 Rp 7.0M

$188 PKR 52.0K

107.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,124 Rp 20.2M

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

6.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$706 Rp 12.7M

$481 PKR 133.1K

46.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$165 Rp 3.0M

$183 PKR 50.6K

-9.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

13.21

-28.39%

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

Last update for Padang: 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

Padang

$192 31%

Karachi

$101 21% 47.2% $91

Accommodation & Living

Padang

$154 24.8%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 52.1% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Padang

$94 15.1%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 41.7% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Padang

$93 14.9%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 26.9% $25

Eating Out

Padang

$60 9.7%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 2% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Padang

$25 4%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 21.1% $5.2

Getting Around

Padang

$3.4 * 0.6%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 354% $12

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $206 in Padang and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karachi 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: $16.00 in Padang vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Padang

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

13:25 1:25 PM

11:25 11:25 AM

2 h behind Padang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,000,096

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Padang Karachi 4,590 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Padang
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

Padang vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Padang and Karachi differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($620 vs $482 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 11% lower in Karachi. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $206 in Padang versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 90% higher in Padang. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $620 per month in Padang versus $482 in Karachi – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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 29% less than in Padang. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.