Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kabul vs. Bishkek Cost of Living Summary

Kabul is 13.5% cheaper than Bishkek.

Restaurants: pay 47.6% less in Kabul
Groceries: pay 39.7% less in Kabul
Transportation: pay 17.4% more in Kabul
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Kabul
Childcare: pay 81.2% less in Kabul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.4% less in Kabul
Clothing: pay 67.1% less in Kabul

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

Kabul vs. Bishkek Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kabul instead of Bishkek, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.6% less for restaurants

	Bishkek	Kabul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.86 KGS600.00	$2.66 AFN176	-61.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.72 KGS500.00	$4.43 AFN293	-22.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 KGS60.00	$0.36 AFN24	-48.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 KGS31.09	$0.15 AFN10	-58.5%
Average			-47.6%

Bishkek vs. Kabul - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.7% less for groceries

	Bishkek	Kabul
Bread 1 loaf	$0.49 KGS42.62	$0.21 AFN14	-56.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.06 KGS355.39	$1.93 AFN128	-52.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.57 KGS312.12	$2.94 AFN194	-17.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.72 KGS150.42	$1.43 AFN94	-17.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 KGS190.68	$1.57 AFN104	-28.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.49 KGS43.27	$0.25 AFN17	-48.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 KGS74.62	$0.36 AFN24	-57.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 KGS81.41	$0.33 AFN22	-64.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 KGS62.37	$0.21 AFN14	-70.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 KGS22.54	$0.21 AFN14	-16.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 KGS19.17	$0.20 AFN13	-7.1%
Average			-39.7%

Bishkek vs. Kabul - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.4% more for transportation

	Bishkek	Kabul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.11 KGS272.26	$3.72 AFN246	+19.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.66 KGS1,020.00	$10.34 AFN683	-11.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,735.85 KGS3,300,000.00	$8,122.57 AFN537,000	-78.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.20 KGS280.00	$7.68 AFN508	+139.8%
Average			+17.4%

Bishkek vs. Kabul - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Bishkek	Kabul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.91 KGS1,041.67	$93.04 AFN6,151	+681.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$506.26 KGS44,272.71	$87.13 AFN5,761	-82.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$375.78 KGS32,861.85	$59.07 AFN3,905	-84.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.63 KGS2,591.13	$39.53 AFN2,613	+33.4%
Average			+136.8%

Bishkek vs. Kabul - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 81.2% less for childcare

	Bishkek	Kabul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.59 KGS17,454.55	$18.90 AFN1,250	-90.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,249.21 KGS459,043.75	$1,476.83 AFN97,636	-71.9%
Average			-81.2%

Bishkek vs. Kabul - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Bishkek	Kabul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.37 KGS120.00	$2.36 AFN156	+72.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.13 KGS186.30	$1.06 AFN70	-50.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.83 KGS160.00	$2.66 AFN176	+45.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.97 KGS4,107.14	$9.16 AFN605	-80.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.80 KGS420.00	$2.22 AFN146	-53.9%
Average			-13.4%

Bishkek vs. Kabul - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 67.1% less for clothing

	Bishkek	Kabul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$38.88 KGS3,400.00	$9.60 AFN635	-75.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.76 KGS3,476.92	$17.72 AFN1,172	-55.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.12 KGS8,405.88	$33.97 AFN2,246	-64.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.77 KGS9,250.00	$28.68 AFN1,896	-72.9%
Average			-67.1%

Bishkek vs. Kabul - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Bishkek vs.

Rome

Bishkek vs.

Wellington

Bishkek vs.

Canberra

Bishkek vs.

Paris

Bishkek vs.

Washington

Bishkek vs.

Reykjavik

Bishkek vs.

Delhi

Bishkek vs.

Beijing

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Kyrgyzstan vs. Afghanistan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Bishkek

Add prices for Kabul

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kabul or Bishkek. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.