Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Almaty Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 34.5% more expensive than Almaty.

Restaurants: pay 40.5% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 44.8% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 38.0% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 8.8% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.7% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 9.2% less in Beijing

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, and housing in Beijing are more expensive than in Almaty. Expenses including restaurants and clothing are lower in Beijing. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Beijing.

Beijing vs. Almaty Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Almaty, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.5% less for restaurants

	Almaty	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.33 KZT3,705.97	$4.21 CN¥29.74	-42.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.41 KZT3,242.72	$4.91 CN¥34.69	-23.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.93 KZT469.36	$0.48 CN¥3.39	-48.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 KZT295.16	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-47.4%
Average			-40.5%

Almaty vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.8% more for groceries

	Almaty	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.53 KZT269.60	$1.71 CN¥12.07	+220.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.58 KZT2,318.38	$7.47 CN¥52.80	+62.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.84 KZT2,449.20	$6.64 CN¥46.96	+37.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.66 KZT841.09	$1.78 CN¥12.56	+6.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 KZT973.78	$1.53 CN¥10.83	-20.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.59 KZT297.21	$0.98 CN¥6.95	+67.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 KZT418.33	$0.77 CN¥5.44	-7.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 KZT414.35	$0.80 CN¥5.66	-2.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 KZT424.68	$0.60 CN¥4.26	-28.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.27 KZT137.76	$0.35 CN¥2.46	+28.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.18 KZT91.14	$0.41 CN¥2.92	+128.9%
Average			+44.8%

Almaty vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.0% more for transportation

	Almaty	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.81 KZT915.43	$4.21 CN¥29.77	+132.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$18.14 KZT9,172.28	$31.54 CN¥223.02	+73.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,900.61 KZT11,581,158.63	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	-20.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.01 KZT3,543.83	$4.63 CN¥32.71	-34.0%
Average			+38.0%

Almaty vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.8% more for housing

	Almaty	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.90 KZT6,524.22	$12.93 CN¥91.43	+0.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$645.61 KZT326,496.02	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	+44.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$437.19 KZT221,094.85	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	+15.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.67 KZT26,634.33	$39.27 CN¥277.61	-25.4%
Average			+8.8%

Almaty vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Almaty	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$258.77 KZT130,865.80	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	+174.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,972.39 KZT5,043,175.21	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	+133.1%
Average			+153.9%

Almaty vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Almaty	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.28 KZT648.54	$1.12 CN¥7.93	-12.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.28 KZT1,151.30	$2.90 CN¥20.52	+27.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.83 KZT926.49	$4.21 CN¥29.74	+129.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.33 KZT24,440.84	$57.84 CN¥408.91	+19.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.13 KZT2,594.18	$8.41 CN¥59.47	+64.0%
Average			+45.7%

Almaty vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.2% less for clothing

	Almaty	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.28 KZT35,543.63	$62.30 CN¥440.46	-11.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.36 KZT20,412.58	$36.37 CN¥257.16	-9.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.56 KZT46,808.02	$81.74 CN¥577.91	-11.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.97 KZT55,614.51	$105.53 CN¥746.11	-4.0%
Average			-9.2%

Almaty vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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