Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tawau and Karachi

For one person, living is cheaper in Karachi: $483 a month against $888 in Tawau, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Tawau
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Tawau Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Karachi
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Karachi Living Index

Jump to prices

Tawau

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$888

/mo nomad

Karachi

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$483

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $888 in Tawau versus $483 in Karachi.

Tawau $888
Karachi $483

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,354 in Tawau versus $754 in Karachi.

Tawau $1,354
Karachi $754

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,820 in Tawau versus $1,025 in Karachi.

Tawau $1,820
Karachi $1,025

Living in Tawau is roughly 84% more expensive than in Karachi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tawau 34% lower, Karachi 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.14 MYR 12.80

$2.11 PKR 585

48.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.22 MYR 78.4

$13.73 PKR 3,801

39.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.21 MYR 17.19

$5.53 PKR 1,531

-23.87%

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

$3.15 MYR 12.86

$2.14 PKR 593

47.20%

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

$0.95 MYR 3.86

$0.40 PKR 111

137.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.46

$0.28 PKR 77.7

28.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 MYR 10.83

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 MYR 18.45

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MYR 7.10

$0.90 PKR 250

93.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 MYR 4.09

$0.55 PKR 153

81.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.06

$1.20 PKR 333

24.17%

Eggs

$2.16 MYR 8.80

$1.25 PKR 346

72.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.36 MYR 58.6

$5.96 PKR 1,650

140.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 MYR 17.75

$3.19 PKR 883

36.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 MYR 40.10

$6.48 PKR 1,793

51.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.04 MYR 12.41

$1.24 PKR 344

145.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.83

$0.53 PKR 147

215.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.48 MYR 10.13

$1.03 PKR 284

140.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.10

$0.51 PKR 142

192.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 MYR 5.32

$0.31 PKR 85.1

322.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 MYR 4.94

$0.31 PKR 87.1

290.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MYR 4.37

$0.41 PKR 113

160.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.31

$0.44 PKR 120

29.55%

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)

$4.48 MYR 18.30

$1.83 PKR 508

144.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.05 MYR 77.7

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.32

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.98 MYR 20.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 MYR 2.84

$0.28 PKR 76.8

150.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.41 MYR 50.6

$9.81 PKR 2,716

26.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 MYR 5.11

$0.87 PKR 240

43.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 MYR 1.97

$0.74 PKR 204

-35.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.98 MYR 28.49

$2.23 PKR 617

213.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.57

$1.38 PKR 383

-36.96%

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

$50.2K MYR 204.8K

$18.4K PKR 5.1M

173.53%

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

$36.0K MYR 146.9K

$26.4K PKR 7.3M

36.19%

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

$49.37 MYR 201

$113 PKR 31.4K

-56.42%

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

$10.55 MYR 43.02

$6.12 PKR 1,694

72.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.74 MYR 117

$13.11 PKR 3,628

119.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.34 MYR 177

$21.78 PKR 6,029

98.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.82 MYR 27.83

$18.27 PKR 5,058

-62.67%

Cinema Ticket

$3.77 MYR 15.39

$4.26 PKR 1,179

-11.50%

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

$183 MYR 746

$52.1 PKR 14.4K

250.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,623 MYR 31.1K

$1,941 PKR 537.3K

292.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 MYR 240

$17.53 PKR 4,852

235.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.06 MYR 135

$22.88 PKR 6,332

44.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 MYR 303

$68.1 PKR 18.8K

9.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.2 MYR 360

$41.55 PKR 11.5K

112.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 MYR 1,578

$118 PKR 32.5K

229.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 MYR 1,030

$73.2 PKR 20.3K

245.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MYR 2,433

$360 PKR 99.6K

65.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$447 MYR 1,823

$188 PKR 52.1K

137.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,936 MYR 7,900

$1,082 PKR 299.4K

79.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,216 MYR 4,962

$474 PKR 131.2K

156.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$418 MYR 1,707

$182 PKR 50.4K

129.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

13.21

-69.27%

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

Last update for Tawau: October 17, 2026

Last update for Karachi: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tawau

$260 29.2%

Karachi

$102 21.1% 60.7% $157

Accommodation & Living

Tawau

$253 28.4%

Karachi

$73 15.2% 71% $179

Clothing & Footwear

Tawau

$114 12.9%

Karachi

$68 14% 41% $47

Eating Out

Tawau

$103 11.6%

Karachi

$62 12.8% 39.9% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tawau

$89 10%

Karachi

$133 27.4% 49.5% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Tawau

$51 5.7%

Karachi

$30 6.3% 40.4% $21

Getting Around

Tawau

$19 2.1%

Karachi

$15 3.2% 17.9% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $387 in Tawau and $118 in Karachi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tawau pays 130% 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 Tawau vs $14.00 in Karachi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $102 per month, with Karachi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Tawau

🇵🇰 Karachi

🕒 Local time

08:08 8:08 AM

05:08 5:08 AM

3 h behind Tawau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

420,806

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 21, 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 21, 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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Highest

Between locations

Tawau Karachi 5,890 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Tawau
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

Tawau vs Karachi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tawau and Karachi differ by about 84% in total monthly costs ($888 vs $483 including rent). Karachi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 130% higher in Tawau, 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: $387 in Tawau versus $118 in Karachi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $888 per month in Tawau versus $483 in Karachi – a 84% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Karachi runs roughly 27% less than in Tawau. 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.

Safety-wise, Tawau 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 84% less than in Tawau. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.