Karachi is where Pakistan’s gold rate is announced, and it is the same rate every other city works from. What changes between shops is the bill, not the metal.
Today’s gold rate in Karachi
As of 4:04pm PKT on 25 August 2026:
| Purity | Per tola | Per gram |
|---|---|---|
| 24K | PKR 513,920 | PKR 44,061 |
| 22K | PKR 470,751 | PKR 40,360 |
| 21K | PKR 449,680 | PKR 38,553 |
| 18K | PKR 385,440 | — |
One tola is 11.6638 grams, which is why tola and gram figures never divide into a round number. Gold moves daily, sometimes several times a day. For the live figure, use Oraan’s gold rate page.
Is the gold rate in Karachi different from the rest of Pakistan?
No. Pakistan has one benchmark rather than a Karachi price, a Lahore price and an Islamabad price. The All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association publishes the official daily rate, the announcement comes out of Karachi’s sarafa market, and every licensed jeweller in the country works off that same figure.
Small differences are dealer-level, not city-level: a shop far from the trading hub may quote a few hundred rupees above the benchmark to cover transport and its own margin.
Where Karachi’s gold trade sits
Karachi’s wholesale gold trade sits in the old city, and the retail clusters sit apart from it. The metal is priced off the same benchmark in all of them; the making charges are not. In Saddar or on Tariq Road you can get three quotes on the same piece in twenty minutes.
| Market | What it is | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Sarafa Bazar, Kharadar | Main bullion and wholesale market near Jodia Bazaar; home of the association that publishes the national rate | Bars, bullion, wholesale lots |
| Saddar and Tariq Road | Long-established retail clusters, dozens of shops within walking distance | Comparing quotes on foot |
| Clifton and Zamzama | Showroom retail at the expensive end | Design and finish, at a premium |
What actually changes what you pay
The metal price in Karachi is fixed for everyone; the bill is not. Three line items move it, and all three are checkable before you pay.
Making charges
Making charges are the labour and design cost the jeweller adds on top of the gold, usually quoted as a percentage. Simple machine-made pieces sit at the low end, hand-worked bangles and bridal sets much higher. On a bridal set this single line separates two shops quoting the same gold at very different totals.
Wastage
Gold is genuinely lost in cutting, shaping and polishing, and jewellers charge for it. Wastage is also the line most often used to quietly pad a bill. Ask the percentage, and whether it is calculated on gross or net weight.
Purity
A 22K piece and a 21K piece look identical across a counter and differ by roughly PKR 21,000 per tola at current rates. The same is true in Lahore, or any other city. Pakistan has no fully enforced mandatory hallmarking regime, so a stamp is a claim rather than a guarantee. If you are paying 22K money, ask what backs the karat.
What to check before you buy gold in Karachi
In the order it matters:
- Weigh it in front of you, on a digital scale — not a tag, not an estimate.
- Ask what the weight includes. Stones, enamel, thread and lac filling are not gold. Get the net gold weight separately.
- Get the purity in writing — a certificate, or the karat on the receipt.
- Take an itemised receipt: date, gross weight, net gold weight, karat, rate applied, making charges and wastage as separate lines, shop details. A shop that will not itemise has answered your question about the shop.
- Ask the buy-back terms before you pay. What deduction applies, do they buy at that day’s rate, and does the original receipt change the answer?
- Note the date and rate you bought at. A year on, “I paid too much” and “the rate went down” are different situations, and only the receipt tells them apart.
Once the gold is yours, the zakat calculator works out what is due on it.
Buying gold in Karachi without the lump sum
At PKR 513,920 a tola as of 25 August 2026, the obstacle for most Karachi households is not which market to visit. A tola costs more than a family can set aside at once, and saving the full amount means watching the rate climb while you save.
A gold committee solves that: a shariah-conscious saving structure with a delivery at the end, not a loan. The rate is locked when your committee starts and you pay the first instalment, so a rise afterwards does not change what you owe.
Oraan is a Karachi company — Office 207, Horizon Tower, Khayaban-e-Saadi, Clifton Block 3 — a short drive from the market that sets the rate. Check the live rate before you pick a size.
Prices as of 25 August 2026, 4:04pm PKT, and change daily. Rates from yesterday are decoration — check the live figure on the day you buy.
