Cost of living comparison

Kazakhstan

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. Astana Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 12.7% more expensive than Astana.

Restaurants: pay 8.9% more in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 6.8% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 27.9% more in Chisinau
Housing: pay 30.9% more in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 24.4% less in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.8% more in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 0.6% more in Chisinau

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

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Chisinau vs. Astana Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 8.9% more for restaurants

	Astana	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.00 KZT4,981.43	$11.22 MDL200.58	+2.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.83 KZT3,545.72	$8.70 MDL155.45	+11.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.10 KZT498.89	$1.21 MDL21.60	+9.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 KZT297.84	$0.89 MDL15.92	+35.4%
Average			+8.9%

Astana vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.8% less for groceries

	Astana	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$0.63 KZT283.66	$0.71 MDL12.71	+13.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.10 KZT2,760.59	$4.89 MDL87.39	-19.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.93 KZT2,230.76	$4.73 MDL84.61	-3.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 KZT1,008.88	$2.79 MDL49.81	+25.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.69 KZT1,218.61	$2.36 MDL42.13	-12.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.82 KZT369.62	$0.44 MDL7.83	-46.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.06 KZT482.13	$0.87 MDL15.60	-18.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.03 KZT468.50	$0.94 MDL16.79	-9.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 KZT456.58	$1.01 MDL17.97	-0.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 KZT141.32	$0.31 MDL5.58
Onions (1 lb)	$0.20 KZT91.90	$0.25 MDL4.40	+21.2%
Average			-6.8%

Astana vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.9% more for transportation

	Astana	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.53 KZT1,144.20	$6.44 MDL115.06	+154.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.78 KZT7,597.96	$13.52 MDL241.70	-19.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,607.50 KZT11M	$29,507.41 MDL528K	+19.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.19 KZT5,065.31	$4.94 MDL88.26	-55.9%
Average			+27.9%

Astana vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.9% more for housing

	Astana	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.96 KZT8,133.10	$10.59 MDL189.39	-41.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.82 KZT261K	$679.74 MDL12,152.24	+18.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$394.61 KZT179K	$435.34 MDL7,782.96	+10.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.26 KZT23,666.51	$185.85 MDL3,322.64	+255.6%
Average			+30.9%

Astana vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

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pay 24.4% less for childcare

	Astana	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$374.89 KZT170K	$434.06 MDL7,759.94	+15.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,828.93 KZT5M	$5,841.67 MDL104K	-50.6%
Average			-24.4%

Astana vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Astana	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.34 KZT607.84	$2.24 MDL40.12	+67.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 KZT1,173.46	$2.16 MDL38.67	-16.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.24 KZT1,013.06	$3.42 MDL61.18	+53.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.61 KZT26,091.29	$41.67 MDL745.01	-27.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.49 KZT2,937.88	$8.41 MDL150.43	+29.7%
Average			+9.8%

Astana vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.6% more for clothing

	Astana	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.09 KZT29,931.37	$79.80 MDL1,426.62	+20.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.98 KZT21,274.30	$47.07 MDL841.43	+0.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$120.13 KZT54,401.42	$114.14 MDL2,040.51	-5.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$129.87 KZT58,813.86	$115.56 MDL2,065.97	-11.0%
Average			+0.6%

Astana vs. Chisinau - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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