Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surin and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $483 a month against $869 in Surin, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Surin
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Surin Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

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Surin

🇹🇭 Thailand

$869

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$483

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $869 in Surin versus $483 in Karachi.

Surin $869
Karachi $483

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,444 in Surin versus $754 in Karachi.

Surin $1,444
Karachi $754

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,018 in Surin versus $1,025 in Karachi.

Surin $2,018
Karachi $1,025

Living in Surin is roughly 80% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Surin 36% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ฿101

$2.11 PKR 585

43.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.70 ฿826

$13.73 PKR 3,801

79.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.23 ฿242

$5.53 PKR 1,531

30.74%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 PKR 609

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.37 PKR 2,040

Cappuccino

$1.74 ฿58.3

$2.14 PKR 593

-18.69%

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

$0.61 ฿20.30

$0.40 PKR 111

52.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ฿10.89

$0.28 PKR 77.7

17.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 ฿73.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 ฿114

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ฿52.4

$0.90 PKR 250

74.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 ฿43.79

$0.55 PKR 153

138.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 ฿48.98

$1.20 PKR 333

22.50%

Eggs

$1.90 ฿63.5

$1.25 PKR 346

52.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.41 ฿582

$5.96 PKR 1,650

192.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.48 ฿83.0

$3.19 PKR 883

-22.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.89 ฿297

$6.48 PKR 1,793

37.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.57 ฿86.0

$1.24 PKR 344

107.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 ฿34.23

$0.53 PKR 147

92.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.48 ฿82.9

$1.03 PKR 284

140.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.5

$0.51 PKR 142

301.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.44 ฿48.20

$0.31 PKR 85.1

364.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ฿31.77

$0.31 PKR 87.1

206.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 ฿31.37

$0.41 PKR 113

129.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 ฿14.59

$0.44 PKR 120

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.31 PKR 362

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 PKR 369

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 PKR 670

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 ฿143

$1.83 PKR 508

133.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.36 ฿547

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 ฿52.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 ฿100

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 ฿30.79

$0.28 PKR 76.8

228.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.81 PKR 2,716

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.37 ฿45.65

$0.87 PKR 240

57.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.73

$0.74 PKR 204

36.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.04 ฿202

$2.23 PKR 617

170.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ฿45.06

$1.38 PKR 383

-2.17%

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

$22.7K ฿758.4K

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

23.65%

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

$27.1K ฿904.4K

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

2.33%

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

$77.8 ฿2,601

$113 PKR 31.4K

-31.30%

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

$11.53 ฿385

$6.12 PKR 1,694

88.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.68 ฿624

$13.11 PKR 3,628

42.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.58 ฿1,390

$21.78 PKR 6,029

90.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.45 ฿383

$18.27 PKR 5,058

-37.33%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿218

$4.26 PKR 1,179

52.82%

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

$628 ฿21.0K

$52.1 PKR 14.4K

1104.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K ฿405.0K

$1,941 PKR 537.3K

524.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.1 ฿1,773

$17.53 PKR 4,852

202.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.95 ฿934

$22.88 PKR 6,332

22.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 ฿2,451

$68.1 PKR 18.8K

7.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.0 ฿2,274

$41.55 PKR 11.5K

63.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 ฿14.7K

$118 PKR 32.5K

274.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 ฿9,126

$73.2 PKR 20.3K

273.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ฿39.6K

$360 PKR 99.6K

229.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$714 ฿23.9K

$188 PKR 52.1K

279.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,730 ฿57.8K

$1,082 PKR 299.4K

59.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,518 ฿50.7K

$474 PKR 131.2K

220.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$182 PKR 50.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

13.21

-57.83%

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

Last update for Surin: October 18, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Surin

$273 31.4%

Karachi

$73 15.2% 73.2% $200

Groceries & Markets

Surin

$235 27%

Karachi

$102 21.1% 56.5% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surin

$108 12.4%

Karachi

$133 27.4% 22.6% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Surin

$100 11.5%

Karachi

$68 14% 32.5% $33

Eating Out

Surin

$88 10.2%

Karachi

$62 12.8% 30% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Surin

$55 6.3%

Karachi

$30 6.3% 44.5% $24

Getting Around

Surin

$10 * 1.2%

Karachi

$15 3.2% 53.3% $5.4

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 $440 in Surin and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $25.00 in Surin vs $14.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $102 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Surin

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

01:01 1:01 AM

23:01 11:01 PM

2 h behind Surin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,104

14,910,352

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 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 THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Surin Karachi 3,960 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Surin
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

Surin vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Surin and Karachi differ by about 80% in total monthly costs ($869 vs $483 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,303 in Surin and $725 in Karachi to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $440 in Surin versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 130% higher in Surin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $869 per month in Surin versus $483 in Karachi – a 80% 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.

Safety-wise, Surin 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 80% less than in Surin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.