Cost of living comparison

Kazakhstan

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Astana Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 11.5% more expensive than Astana.

Restaurants: pay 50.8% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 7.7% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 29.2% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 32.0% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 89.1% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.3% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 10.5% less in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Astana Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 50.8% less for restaurants

	Astana	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.00 KZT4,985.16	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-59.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.83 KZT3,548.37	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-33.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.10 KZT499.26	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-52.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 KZT298.06	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-58.6%
Average			-50.8%

Astana vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.7% more for groceries

	Astana	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.63 KZT283.87	$1.73 CN¥11.56	+175.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.10 KZT2,762.66	$7.22 CN¥48.28	+18.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.93 KZT2,232.43	$6.41 CN¥42.88	+30.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 KZT1,009.64	$2.02 CN¥13.53	-9.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.69 KZT1,219.52	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-45.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.82 KZT369.90	$0.93 CN¥6.25	+14.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.06 KZT482.49	$0.79 CN¥5.28	-25.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.03 KZT468.85	$0.93 CN¥6.21	-10.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 KZT456.93	$0.71 CN¥4.75	-29.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 KZT141.42	$0.32 CN¥2.15	+3.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.20 KZT91.97	$0.40 CN¥2.66	+95.6%
Average			+7.7%

Astana vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.2% more for transportation

	Astana	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.53 KZT1,145.06	$4.96 CN¥33.20	+96.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.78 KZT7,603.65	$34.30 CN¥229.53	+104.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,607.50 KZT11M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-21.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.19 KZT5,069.10	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-58.1%
Average			+29.2%

Astana vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.0% more for housing

	Astana	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.96 KZT8,139.19	$14.27 CN¥95.47	-20.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.82 KZT261K	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	+62.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$394.61 KZT179K	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	+34.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.26 KZT23,684.23	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-14.9%
Average			+32.0%

Astana vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 89.1% more for childcare

	Astana	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$374.89 KZT170K	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	+74.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,828.93 KZT5M	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+105.3%
Average			+89.1%

Astana vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Astana	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.34 KZT608.29	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-11.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 KZT1,174.34	$3.60 CN¥24.09	+38.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.24 KZT1,013.82	$4.33 CN¥28.94	+93.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.61 KZT26,110.84	$41.45 CN¥277.32	-28.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.49 KZT2,940.08	$7.46 CN¥49.90	+15.0%
Average			+6.3%

Astana vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.5% less for clothing

	Astana	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.09 KZT29,953.79	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+6.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.98 KZT21,290.23	$40.41 CN¥270.36	-14.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$120.13 KZT54,442.17	$86.99 CN¥582.00	-27.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$129.87 KZT58,857.92	$125.40 CN¥839.02	-3.4%
Average			-10.5%

Astana vs. Beijing - 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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