Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rawalpindi and Karachi

For one person, living costs are similar in Rawalpindi and in Karachi: $498 and $482 a month, rent and utilities included.

24

Cost of Living Index in Rawalpindi
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Rawalpindi Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Rawalpindi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$498

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $498 in Rawalpindi versus $482 in Karachi.

Rawalpindi $498
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $784 in Rawalpindi versus $750 in Karachi.

Rawalpindi $784
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,070 in Rawalpindi versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Rawalpindi $1,070
Karachi $1,018

Living in Rawalpindi is roughly 3% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rawalpindi 63% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.04 PKR 565

$2.13 PKR 588

-4.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.20 PKR 4,484

$13.30 PKR 3,680

21.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.79 PKR 1,602

$5.45 PKR 1,508

6.24%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 PKR 492

$2.19 PKR 607

-18.72%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.47 PKR 962

$7.24 PKR 2,005

-52.07%

Cappuccino

$1.94 PKR 537

$2.09 PKR 579

-7.18%

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

$0.44 PKR 121

$0.40 PKR 111

10.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 PKR 63.3

$0.26 PKR 71.1

-11.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 PKR 249

$0.92 PKR 254

-2.17%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 PKR 162

$0.56 PKR 156

5.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.22 PKR 337

$1.25 PKR 345

-2.40%

Eggs

$1.14 PKR 316

$1.23 PKR 341

-7.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.38 PKR 1,765

$5.67 PKR 1,570

12.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.38 PKR 935

$3.16 PKR 876

6.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.22 PKR 1,446

$6.28 PKR 1,737

-16.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.14 PKR 316

$1.26 PKR 348

-9.52%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 PKR 245

$0.53 PKR 148

67.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 PKR 337

$1.00 PKR 276

22.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.56 PKR 156

$0.56 PKR 154

Potato (1kg)

$0.35 PKR 97.7

$0.33 PKR 91.4

6.06%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 PKR 127

$0.34 PKR 95.1

35.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 PKR 91.5

$0.42 PKR 116

-21.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 PKR 117

$0.44 PKR 121

-4.55%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$16.44 PKR 4,551

$1.25 PKR 346

1215.20%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 PKR 335

$1.32 PKR 365

-8.33%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 PKR 677

$2.42 PKR 670

1.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 PKR 548

$1.84 PKR 509

7.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 PKR 46.63

$0.28 PKR 77.0

-39.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.08 PKR 2,791

$9.99 PKR 2,764

0.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.88 PKR 244

$0.92 PKR 256

-4.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 PKR 95.8

$0.70 PKR 193

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.09 PKR 856

$2.16 PKR 597

43.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 PKR 341

$1.38 PKR 382

-10.87%

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

$18.7K PKR 5.2M

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

4.55%

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

$24.5K PKR 6.8M

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-9.53%

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

$115 PKR 31.8K

$113 PKR 31.4K

1.13%

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

$5.74 PKR 1,590

$5.95 PKR 1,648

-3.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.80 PKR 5,204

$13.16 PKR 3,642

42.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.17 PKR 3,369

$21.55 PKR 5,965

-43.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.40 PKR 2,048

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-59.41%

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 PKR 1,211

$4.21 PKR 1,165

4.04%

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

$49.65 PKR 13.7K

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

-4.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,044 PKR 288.9K

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

-46.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.65 PKR 4,886

$17.55 PKR 4,858

0.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.02 PKR 8,862

$23.51 PKR 6,506

36.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.4 PKR 25.9K

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

35.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.64 PKR 9,863

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

-12.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$204 PKR 56.5K

$118 PKR 32.7K

73.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$81.6 PKR 22.6K

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

10.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$418 PKR 115.6K

$357 PKR 98.9K

16.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$222 PKR 61.5K

$188 PKR 52.0K

18.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,197 PKR 331.2K

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

12.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$451 PKR 124.8K

$481 PKR 133.1K

-6.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$173 PKR 47.8K

$183 PKR 50.6K

-5.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

22.81

13.21

72.67%

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

Last update for Rawalpindi: October 13, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rawalpindi

$139 28%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 4.8% $6.7

Groceries & Markets

Rawalpindi

$103 20.7%

Karachi

$101 21% 1.8% $1.8

Accommodation & Living

Rawalpindi

$82 16.4%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 9.8% $8

Clothing & Footwear

Rawalpindi

$80 16.1%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 15.8% $13

Eating Out

Rawalpindi

$60 12%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 2.4% $1.4

Sport & Entertainment

Rawalpindi

$21 4.2%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 43.3% $9

Getting Around

Rawalpindi

$13 2.7%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 16.1% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $204 in Rawalpindi and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karachi pays 6% 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 Rawalpindi vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $103 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Rawalpindi

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

04:33 4:33 AM

Same time as Rawalpindi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,098,231

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Rawalpindi Karachi 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Rawalpindi
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

Rawalpindi vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rawalpindi and Karachi differ by about 3% in total monthly costs ($498 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 6% 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: $204 in Rawalpindi versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $498 per month in Rawalpindi versus $482 in Karachi – a 3% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 1% less than in Rawalpindi. 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 3% less than in Rawalpindi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.