Cost of living comparison

compared to

Almaty vs. China Cost of Living Summary

Almaty is 24.3% more expensive than China overall.

Restaurants: pay 96.9% more in Almaty
Groceries: pay 2.2% less in Almaty
Transportation: pay 7.1% more in Almaty
Housing: pay 69.7% more in Almaty
Childcare: pay 34.7% less in Almaty
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.8% less in Almaty
Clothing: pay 41.1% more in Almaty

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

Almaty vs. China Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 96.9% more for restaurants

	China	Almaty
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.90 CN¥20.02	$7.33 KZT3,531.22	+153.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.02 CN¥34.67	$6.41 KZT3,089.82	+27.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 CN¥3.28	$0.93 KZT447.22	+95.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 CN¥1.91	$0.58 KZT281.24	+111.1%
Average			+96.9%

China vs. Almaty - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2% less for groceries

	China	Almaty
Bread 1 loaf	$1.63 CN¥11.25	$0.53 KZT256.89	-67.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.32 CN¥43.68	$4.58 KZT2,209.06	-27.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 CN¥46.34	$4.84 KZT2,333.71	-27.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.56 CN¥10.79	$1.66 KZT801.43	+6.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.53	$1.93 KZT927.86	+26.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.13	$0.59 KZT283.20	-20.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.55 CN¥3.77	$0.83 KZT398.61	+51.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 CN¥4.31	$0.82 KZT394.81	+31.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 CN¥3.48	$0.84 KZT404.65	+66.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 CN¥2.08	$0.27 KZT131.26	-9.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.39 CN¥2.73	$0.18 KZT86.84	-54.3%
Average			-2.2%

China vs. Almaty - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.1% more for transportation

	China	Almaty
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 CN¥29.97	$1.81 KZT872.26	-58.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.32 CN¥140.46	$18.14 KZT8,739.77	-10.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,143.98 CN¥132K	$22,900.61 KZT11M	+19.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.94 CN¥27.25	$7.01 KZT3,376.73	+77.7%
Average			+7.1%

China vs. Almaty - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.7% more for housing

	China	Almaty
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.18 CN¥77.25	$12.90 KZT6,216.58	+15.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$304.90 CN¥2,107.39	$645.61 KZT311K	+111.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.65 CN¥1,352.27	$437.19 KZT211K	+123.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.04 CN¥283.68	$52.67 KZT25,378.41	+28.3%
Average			+69.7%

China vs. Almaty - Cost of housing

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pay 34.7% less for childcare

	China	Almaty
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$390.25 CN¥2,697.34	$258.77 KZT125K	-33.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,493.57 CN¥107K	$9,972.39 KZT5M	-35.6%
Average			-34.7%

China vs. Almaty - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.8% less for entertainment and sports

	China	Almaty
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.04 CN¥7.20	$1.28 KZT617.96	+23.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.84 CN¥19.60	$2.28 KZT1,097.01	-19.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 CN¥23.22	$1.83 KZT882.80	-45.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.13 CN¥284.27	$48.33 KZT23,288.35	+17.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.98 CN¥41.35	$5.13 KZT2,471.85	-14.3%
Average			-7.8%

China vs. Almaty - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.1% more for clothing

	China	Almaty
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.93 CN¥317.44	$70.28 KZT33,867.60	+53.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.93 CN¥213.79	$40.36 KZT19,450.04	+30.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.26 CN¥492.53	$92.56 KZT44,600.83	+29.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.88 CN¥503.74	$109.97 KZT52,992.05	+50.9%
Average			+41.1%

China vs. Almaty - 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: April 2026

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