Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pekanbaru and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $628 in Pekanbaru, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Pekanbaru
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Pekanbaru Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
Learn more

Karachi Living Index

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Pekanbaru

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$628

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $628 in Pekanbaru versus $482 in Karachi.

Pekanbaru $628
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $983 in Pekanbaru versus $750 in Karachi.

Pekanbaru $983
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,339 in Pekanbaru versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Pekanbaru $1,339
Karachi $1,018

Living in Pekanbaru is roughly 30% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pekanbaru 53% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.43 Rp 25.8K

$2.13 PKR 588

-32.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.20 Rp 147.6K

$13.30 PKR 3,680

-38.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-55.78%

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

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$2.09 PKR 579

-37.80%

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

$0.58 Rp 10.4K

$0.40 PKR 111

45.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 Rp 5,954

$0.26 PKR 71.1

26.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 Rp 37.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$0.92 PKR 254

41.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$0.56 PKR 156

105.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 Rp 16.1K

$1.25 PKR 345

-28.80%

Eggs

$1.68 Rp 30.3K

$1.23 PKR 341

36.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 Rp 131.3K

$5.67 PKR 1,570

28.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.37 Rp 42.7K

$3.16 PKR 876

-25.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.49 Rp 116.9K

$6.28 PKR 1,737

3.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

$1.26 PKR 348

114.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

$0.53 PKR 148

220.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$1.00 PKR 276

141.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$0.56 PKR 154

126.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

$0.33 PKR 91.4

275.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$0.34 PKR 95.1

461.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 Rp 13.5K

$0.42 PKR 116

78.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 Rp 6,350

$0.44 PKR 121

-20.45%

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)

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

$1.84 PKR 509

17.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.45 Rp 386.0K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.2K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 Rp 5,230

$0.28 PKR 77.0

3.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.44 Rp 152.0K

$9.99 PKR 2,764

-15.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 Rp 16.6K

$0.92 PKR 256

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 Rp 7,154

$0.70 PKR 193

-42.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 Rp 48.2K

$2.16 PKR 597

24.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

$1.38 PKR 382

-44.93%

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

$23.3K Rp 418.9M

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

30.02%

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

$26.0K Rp 468.5M

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-3.89%

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

$62.1 Rp 1.1M

$113 PKR 31.4K

-45.28%

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

$5.99 Rp 107.9K

$5.95 PKR 1,648

0.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.78 Rp 428.1K

$13.16 PKR 3,642

80.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.34 Rp 510.2K

$21.55 PKR 5,965

31.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.31 Rp 149.7K

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-54.42%

Cinema Ticket

$3.03 Rp 54.6K

$4.21 PKR 1,165

-28.03%

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

$96.0 Rp 1.7M

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

84.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,773 Rp 139.9M

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

300.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.96 Rp 575.3K

$17.55 PKR 4,858

82.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.42 Rp 511.6K

$23.51 PKR 6,506

20.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.8 Rp 985.5K

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

-20.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

99.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 Rp 4.7M

$118 PKR 32.7K

121.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 Rp 2.6M

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

96.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$540 Rp 9.7M

$357 PKR 98.9K

51.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 Rp 6.4M

$188 PKR 52.0K

89.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,070 Rp 19.3M

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

0.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$807 Rp 14.5M

$481 PKR 133.1K

67.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$176 Rp 3.2M

$183 PKR 50.6K

-3.78%

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 Pekanbaru: 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

Pekanbaru

$201 32%

Karachi

$101 21% 49.6% $100

Accommodation & Living

Pekanbaru

$145 23.1%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 49.2% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pekanbaru

$92 14.6%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 44.3% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Pekanbaru

$88 14%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 23.2% $20

Eating Out

Pekanbaru

$55 8.8%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 10.8% $6

Sport & Entertainment

Pekanbaru

$34 5.5%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 12.9% $4.4

Getting Around

Pekanbaru

$13 2%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 24% $3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $262 in Pekanbaru and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karachi pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $8.00 in Pekanbaru vs $13.00 in Karachi. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $101, with Karachi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Pekanbaru

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

11:43 11:43 AM

09:43 9:43 AM

2 h behind Pekanbaru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,020,308

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

Pekanbaru Karachi 4,580 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Pekanbaru
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

Pekanbaru vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pekanbaru and Karachi differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($628 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 4% 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: $262 in Pekanbaru versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $628 per month in Pekanbaru versus $482 in Karachi – a 30% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 18% less than in Pekanbaru. 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 30% less than in Pekanbaru. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.