Cost of living comparison

Kyrgyzstan

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome is 14.7% more expensive than Bishkek.

Restaurants: pay 54.2% more in Sao Tome
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in Sao Tome
Transportation: pay 47.7% more in Sao Tome
Housing: pay 25.2% less in Sao Tome
Childcare: pay 46.0% less in Sao Tome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.2% more in Sao Tome
Clothing: pay 40.5% less in Sao Tome

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

Planning a move to Sao Tome and Principe? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome instead of Bishkek, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 54.2% more for restaurants

	Bishkek	Sao Tome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.86 KGS600.01	$8.96 STD200K	+30.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.83 KGS510.01	$7.89 STD176K	+35.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 KGS65.00	$1.84 STD41,004	+147.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 KGS33.88	$1.25 STD27,770	+221.7%
Average			+54.2%

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Bishkek	Sao Tome
Bread 1 loaf	$0.40 KGS34.67	$1.00 STD22,187	+151.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.82 KGS334.23	$9.80 STD218K	+156.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.81 KGS333.12	$5.87 STD131K	+54.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 KGS151.13	$4.85 STD108K	+180.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 KGS181.82	$8.89 STD198K	+327.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.63 KGS54.76	$1.70 STD37,881	+171.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.84 KGS73.57	$0.79 STD17,644	-5.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 KGS81.76	$1.63 STD36,419	+74.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 KGS62.84	$1.57 STD34,958	+118.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.27 KGS23.90	$1.31 STD29,299	+381.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 KGS19.28	$1.08 STD23,986	+388.3%
Average			+153.1%

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.7% more for transportation

	Bishkek	Sao Tome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.74 KGS326.93	$6.46 STD144K	+72.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.66 KGS1,020.02	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,991.94 KGS3M	$24,634.18 STD549M	-17.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.52 KGS395.01	$22.43 STD500K	+396.6%
Average			+47.7%

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.2% less for housing

	Bishkek	Sao Tome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.00 KGS1,049.18	$66.91 STD1M	+457.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$603.19 KGS52,748.92	$284.91 STD6M	-52.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$416.93 KGS36,460.58	$195.02 STD4M	-53.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.42 KGS3,359.98	$174.83 STD4M	+355.0%
Average			-25.2%

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.0% less for childcare

	Bishkek	Sao Tome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$219.56 KGS19,200.33	$228.62 STD5M	+4.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,837.88 KGS685K	$2,194.77 STD49M	-72.0%
Average			-46.0%

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Bishkek	Sao Tome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.37 KGS120.00	$1.70 STD37,799	+23.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.43 KGS212.36	$2.26 STD50,442	-6.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.06 KGS180.00	$2.26 STD50,420	+9.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.84 KGS4,795.54	$33.92 STD756K	-38.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.72 KGS500.01	$20.16 STD449K	+252.5%
Average			+26.2%

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.5% less for clothing

	Bishkek	Sao Tome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.40 KGS4,844.53	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.07 KGS3,766.73	$75.02 STD2M	+74.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.57 KGS7,920.14	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.22 KGS7,890.14	$18.36 STD409K	-79.6%
Average			-40.5%

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Bishkek vs. Sao Tome

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Sao Tome?

More cost comparisons

Bishkek vs.

Rome

Bishkek vs.

Reykjavik

Bishkek vs.

Moscow

Bishkek vs.

Dublin

Bishkek vs.

Athens

Bishkek vs.

Warsaw

Bishkek vs.

Vienna

Bishkek vs.

Lima

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Sao Tome

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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