Cost of living comparison

Pakistan

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Al Ain vs. Karachi Cost of Living Summary

Al Ain is 3.2 times more expensive than Karachi.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Al Ain
Groceries: pay 2.6 times more in Al Ain
Transportation: pay 25.7% more in Al Ain
Housing: pay 5.8 times more in Al Ain
Childcare: pay 6.5 times more in Al Ain
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.9 times more in Al Ain
Clothing: pay 91.9% more in Al Ain

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and clothing in Al Ain are more expensive than in Karachi. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Al Ain.

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Al Ain vs. Karachi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Al Ain instead of Karachi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Karachi	Al Ain
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.17 PKR600.60	$8.17 AED30.00	+277.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	$8.58 AED31.50	+58.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 PKR109.17	$0.72 AED2.65	+83.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 PKR73.78	$0.34 AED1.25	+27.9%
Average			+132.4%

Karachi vs. Al Ain - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.6 times more for groceries

	Karachi	Al Ain
Bread 1 loaf	$0.54 PKR149.82	$1.62 AED5.94	+199.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.89 PKR802.51	$4.76 AED17.50	+64.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.33 PKR923.25	$6.79 AED24.92	+103.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.26 PKR349.44	$2.83 AED10.39	+124.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.40 PKR389.34	$4.40 AED16.16	+213.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.58 PKR160.05	$1.12 AED4.13	+94.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR70.26	$0.92 AED3.38	+263.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.46 PKR127.13	$0.84 AED3.09	+83.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.25 PKR68.11	$0.71 AED2.60	+187.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.15 PKR40.64	$0.52 AED1.93	+258.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.15 PKR41.17	$0.53 AED1.96	+259.1%
Average			+158.1%

Karachi vs. Al Ain - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.7% more for transportation

	Karachi	Al Ain
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 PKR1,428.03	$3.37 AED12.37	-34.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.93 PKR2,752.75	$24.50 AED89.99	+146.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,053.11 PKR5M	$29,949.09 AED110K	+65.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.68 PKR1,851.85	$6.67 AED24.50	-0.1%
Average			+25.7%

Karachi vs. Al Ain - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.8 times more for housing

	Karachi	Al Ain
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.24 PKR3,670.33	$88.30 AED324.28	+567.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$119.43 PKR33,110.00	$707.89 AED2,599.72	+492.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$74.38 PKR20,620.60	$816.48 AED2,998.51	+997.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.68 PKR24,031.72	$86.71 AED318.46
Average			+484.2%

Karachi vs. Al Ain - Cost of housing

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pay 6.5 times more for childcare

	Karachi	Al Ain
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$51.74 PKR14,345.58	$571.30 AED2,098.11	+1004.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,942.52 PKR539K	$7,532.65 AED27,663.65	+287.8%
Average			+554.3%

Karachi vs. Al Ain - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.9 times more for entertainment and sports

	Karachi	Al Ain
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.17 PKR600.60	$8.17 AED30.00	+277.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.15 PKR596.75	$4.67 AED17.16	+117.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.81 PKR500.50	$6.26 AED23.00	+246.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$21.46 PKR5,950.39	$57.29 AED210.39	+166.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	$13.61 AED49.99	+214.2%
Average			+193.4%

Karachi vs. Al Ain - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 91.9% more for clothing

	Karachi	Al Ain
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.80 PKR4,933.50	$44.24 AED162.48	+148.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$23.21 PKR6,435.00	$49.09 AED180.30	+111.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.83 PKR18,804.50	$70.11 AED257.47	+3.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.92 PKR11,344.67	$102.10 AED374.96	+149.5%
Average			+91.9%

Karachi vs. Al Ain - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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