Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Selangor and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $482 a month against $1,020 in Selangor, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Selangor
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Selangor Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Selangor

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,020

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$482

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,020 in Selangor versus $482 in Karachi.

Selangor $1,020
Karachi $482

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,469 in Selangor versus $750 in Karachi.

Selangor $1,469
Karachi $750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,918 in Selangor versus $1,018 in Karachi.

Selangor $1,918
Karachi $1,018

Living in Selangor is roughly 112% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Selangor 24% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.33 MYR 17.67

$2.13 PKR 588

103.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.20 MYR 78.3

$13.30 PKR 3,680

44.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.04 MYR 16.46

$5.45 PKR 1,508

-25.87%

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

$2.26 MYR 9.23

$2.09 PKR 579

8.13%

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

$0.78 MYR 3.18

$0.40 PKR 111

95.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 MYR 1.93

$0.26 PKR 71.1

80.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 MYR 18.08

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.96 MYR 20.24

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 MYR 7.87

$0.92 PKR 254

109.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 MYR 4.30

$0.56 PKR 156

87.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 MYR 6.25

$1.25 PKR 345

22.40%

Eggs

$1.92 MYR 7.82

$1.23 PKR 341

56.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.26 MYR 58.2

$5.67 PKR 1,570

151.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 MYR 17.78

$3.16 PKR 876

37.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 MYR 39.16

$6.28 PKR 1,737

52.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.44 MYR 14.04

$1.26 PKR 348

173.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 MYR 7.52

$0.53 PKR 148

247.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 MYR 9.55

$1.00 PKR 276

134.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 MYR 6.49

$0.56 PKR 154

183.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.34 MYR 5.45

$0.33 PKR 91.4

306.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 MYR 4.21

$0.34 PKR 95.1

202.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 MYR 4.52

$0.42 PKR 116

164.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MYR 2.19

$0.44 PKR 121

22.73%

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)

$4.50 MYR 18.35

$1.84 PKR 509

144.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.53 MYR 79.7

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.59 MYR 14.64

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.86 MYR 19.81

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 MYR 4.87

$0.28 PKR 77.0

325.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.26 MYR 50.0

$9.99 PKR 2,764

22.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 MYR 5.06

$0.92 PKR 256

34.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 MYR 5.10

$0.70 PKR 193

78.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.34 MYR 17.72

$2.16 PKR 597

100.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.73 MYR 2.99

$1.38 PKR 382

-47.10%

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

$41.9K MYR 171.0K

$17.9K PKR 5.0M

134.13%

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

$35.3K MYR 143.8K

$27.1K PKR 7.5M

30.16%

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

$63.4 MYR 258

$113 PKR 31.4K

-44.15%

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

$8.50 MYR 34.69

$5.95 PKR 1,648

42.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.97 MYR 106

$13.16 PKR 3,642

97.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.09 MYR 168

$21.55 PKR 5,965

90.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.87 MYR 28.04

$18.23 PKR 5,044

-62.31%

Cinema Ticket

$5.05 MYR 20.59

$4.21 PKR 1,165

19.95%

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

$122 MYR 499

$52.2 PKR 14.4K

134.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,175 MYR 29.3K

$1,940 PKR 537.0K

269.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MYR 289

$17.55 PKR 4,858

303.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.40 MYR 169

$23.51 PKR 6,506

76.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 MYR 315

$68.9 PKR 19.1K

11.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.0 MYR 339

$40.59 PKR 11.2K

104.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$511 MYR 2,083

$118 PKR 32.7K

332.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 MYR 1,413

$73.6 PKR 20.4K

370.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$880 MYR 3,589

$357 PKR 98.9K

146.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$481 MYR 1,963

$188 PKR 52.0K

156.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,578 MYR 6,438

$1,060 PKR 293.4K

48.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$705 MYR 2,875

$481 PKR 133.1K

46.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,019 MYR 4,157

$183 PKR 50.6K

457.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.96

13.21

-70.02%

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

Last update for Selangor: October 12, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Selangor

$346 34%

Karachi

$74 15.3% 78.7% $273

Groceries & Markets

Selangor

$266 26.1%

Karachi

$101 21% 62% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Selangor

$123 12%

Karachi

$68 14.1% 44.7% $55

Eating Out

Selangor

$111 10.9%

Karachi

$61 12.7% 45% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Selangor

$98 9.6%

Karachi

$133 27.5% 35.5% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Selangor

$51 5%

Karachi

$30 6.2% 41.4% $21

Getting Around

Selangor

$25 2.4%

Karachi

$16 3.2% 36.7% $9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $511 in Selangor and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Selangor pays 457% 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: $19.00 in Selangor vs $13.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $101 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Selangor

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

09:34 9:34 AM

06:34 6:34 AM

3 h behind Selangor

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

281,717

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 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 MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Selangor Karachi 4,370 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Selangor
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

Selangor vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Selangor and Karachi differ by about 112% in total monthly costs ($1,020 vs $482 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 457% higher in Selangor, 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: $511 in Selangor versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,020 per month in Selangor versus $482 in Karachi – a 112% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 23% less than in Selangor. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $482 in Karachi versus $1,020 in Selangor, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Karachi but tight or insufficient in Selangor. 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, Selangor 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 112% less than in Selangor. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.