Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sanya and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $761 in Sanya, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Sanya
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Sanya Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Sanya

🇨🇳 China

$761

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $761 in Sanya versus $482 in Karachi.

Sanya $761
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,235 in Sanya versus $750 in Karachi.

Sanya $1,235
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,708 in Sanya versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Sanya $1,708
Karachi $1,018

Living in Sanya is roughly 58% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.31 ¥22.14

$2.13 PKR 588

55.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.23 ¥149

$13.30 PKR 3,680

67.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.38 ¥42.68

$5.45 PKR 1,508

17.06%

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

$2.18 ¥14.54

$2.09 PKR 579

4.31%

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

$0.50 ¥3.36

$0.40 PKR 111

25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$0.26 PKR 71.1

65.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.33 ¥8.88

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 ¥11.31

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 ¥14.12

$0.92 PKR 254

129.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 ¥9.05

$0.56 PKR 156

141.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ¥10.75

$1.25 PKR 345

28.80%

Eggs

$1.67 ¥11.18

$1.23 PKR 341

35.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.71 ¥152

$5.67 PKR 1,570

300.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.59 ¥30.66

$3.16 PKR 876

45.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.35 ¥75.9

$6.28 PKR 1,737

80.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.37 ¥15.84

$1.26 PKR 348

88.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 ¥10.38

$0.53 PKR 148

192.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.51 ¥16.77

$1.00 PKR 276

151.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 ¥13.34

$0.56 PKR 154

257.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.30

$0.33 PKR 91.4

184.85%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 ¥4.80

$0.34 PKR 95.1

111.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.55 ¥3.65

$0.42 PKR 116

30.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.88

$0.44 PKR 121

31.82%

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)

$3.64 ¥24.34

$1.84 PKR 509

97.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 ¥51.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 ¥6.11

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 ¥10.28

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.96

$0.28 PKR 77.0

3.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.99 ¥120

$9.99 PKR 2,764

80.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 ¥9.75

$0.92 PKR 256

58.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ¥2.33

$0.70 PKR 193

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 ¥51.8

$2.16 PKR 597

258.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 ¥8.70

$1.38 PKR 382

-5.80%

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

$17.5K ¥117.2K

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

-2.11%

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

$17.3K ¥115.5K

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

-36.22%

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

$57.4 ¥384

$113 PKR 31.4K

-49.43%

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

$6.54 ¥43.72

$5.95 PKR 1,648

9.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$4.45 ¥29.73

$13.16 PKR 3,642

-66.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.39 ¥277

$21.55 PKR 5,965

92.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.72 ¥98.4

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-19.25%

Cinema Ticket

$6.27 ¥41.89

$4.21 PKR 1,165

48.93%

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

$413 ¥2,764

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

692.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K ¥118.1K

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

810.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.75 ¥286

$17.55 PKR 4,858

143.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.93 ¥220

$23.51 PKR 6,506

40.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 ¥507

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

10.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.6 ¥485

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

78.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 ¥2,034

$118 PKR 32.7K

157.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$180 ¥1,203

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

144.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$631 ¥4,220

$357 PKR 98.9K

76.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$378 ¥2,524

$188 PKR 52.0K

100.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,448 ¥23.1K

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

225.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ¥12.8K

$481 PKR 133.1K

298.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$896 ¥5,992

$183 PKR 50.6K

389.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

13.21

-74.56%

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

Last update for Sanya: 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

Sanya

$250 32.9%

Karachi

$101 21% 59.6% $149

Accommodation & Living

Sanya

$180 23.6%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 59.1% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Sanya

$101 13.2%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 32.8% $33

Eating Out

Sanya

$85 11.2%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 28.5% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sanya

$68 9%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 93.9% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Sanya

$54 7.1%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 44.4% $24

Getting Around

Sanya

$22 2.9%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 30.6% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $304 in Sanya and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sanya pays 390% 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: $22.00 in Sanya vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Sanya

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

10:41 10:41 AM

3 h behind Sanya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,031,396

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 20, 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 20, 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

Sanya Karachi 4,440 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Sanya
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

Sanya vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sanya and Karachi differ by about 58% in total monthly costs ($761 vs $482 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 390% higher in Sanya, 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: $304 in Sanya versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $761 per month in Sanya versus $482 in Karachi – a 58% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 80% less than in Sanya. 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 58% less than in Sanya. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.