Cost of living comparison

Kazakhstan

compared to

South Africa

Sandton vs. Almaty Cost of Living Summary

Sandton is 29.3% more expensive than Almaty.

Restaurants: pay 13.7% more in Sandton
Groceries: pay 50.0% more in Sandton
Transportation: pay 78.4% more in Sandton
Housing: pay 73.0% more in Sandton
Childcare: pay 33.1% less in Sandton
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.8% more in Sandton
Clothing: pay 10.7% less in Sandton

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

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Sandton vs. Almaty Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 13.7% more for restaurants

	Almaty	Sandton
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.33 KZT3,459.35	$8.60 ZAR141.42	+17.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.41 KZT3,026.93	$5.02 ZAR82.49	-21.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.93 KZT438.12	$1.08 ZAR17.69	+15.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 KZT275.51	$0.84 ZAR13.74	+43.2%
Average			+13.7%

Almaty vs. Sandton - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.0% more for groceries

	Almaty	Sandton
Bread 1 loaf	$0.53 KZT251.66	$1.07 ZAR17.56	+100.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.58 KZT2,164.10	$4.02 ZAR66.11	-12.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.84 KZT2,286.21	$4.68 ZAR76.96	-3.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.66 KZT785.12	$2.46 ZAR40.50	+48.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 KZT908.98	$2.10 ZAR34.57	+9.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.59 KZT277.43	$0.76 ZAR12.45	+28.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 KZT390.49	$0.71 ZAR11.65	-14.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 KZT386.77	$0.75 ZAR12.27	-8.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 KZT396.42	$0.80 ZAR13.12	-5.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.27 KZT128.59	$0.59 ZAR9.75	+117.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.18 KZT85.07	$0.70 ZAR11.56	+290.2%
Average			+50.0%

Almaty vs. Sandton - Cost of groceries

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pay 78.4% more for transportation

	Almaty	Sandton
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.81 KZT854.51	$4.97 ZAR81.74	+174.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$18.14 KZT8,561.89	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,900.61 KZT11M	$22,935.00 ZAR377K	+0.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.01 KZT3,308.00	$11.24 ZAR184.78	+60.4%
Average			+78.4%

Almaty vs. Sandton - Cost of transportation

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pay 73.0% more for housing

	Almaty	Sandton
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.90 KZT6,090.05	$41.62 ZAR684.28	+222.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$645.61 KZT305K	$515.85 ZAR8,481.80	-20.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$437.19 KZT206K	$458.70 ZAR7,542.17	+4.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.67 KZT24,861.89	$97.15 ZAR1,597.34	+84.5%
Average			+73.0%

Almaty vs. Sandton - Cost of housing

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pay 33.1% less for childcare

	Almaty	Sandton
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$258.77 KZT122K	$201.83 ZAR3,318.56	-22.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,972.39 KZT5M	$5,558.87 ZAR91,401.73	-44.3%
Average			-33.1%

Almaty vs. Sandton - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Almaty	Sandton
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.28 KZT605.39	$2.29 ZAR37.71	+78.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.28 KZT1,074.69	$2.21 ZAR36.39	-2.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.83 KZT864.84	$2.87 ZAR47.14	+56.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.33 KZT22,814.37	$43.96 ZAR722.79	-9.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.13 KZT2,421.54	$7.45 ZAR122.56	+45.3%
Average			+33.8%

Almaty vs. Sandton - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.7% less for clothing

	Almaty	Sandton
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.28 KZT33,178.30	$53.84 ZAR885.30	-23.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.36 KZT19,054.18	$41.31 ZAR679.22	+2.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.56 KZT43,693.07	$92.70 ZAR1,524.15	+0.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.97 KZT51,913.51	$86.01 ZAR1,414.16	-21.8%
Average			-10.7%

Almaty vs. Sandton - 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: July 2026

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