Cost of living comparison

Moldova

compared to

Kazakhstan

Astana vs. Chisinau Cost of Living Summary

Astana is 11.3% cheaper than Chisinau.

Restaurants: pay 8.2% less in Astana
Groceries: pay 7.3% more in Astana
Transportation: pay 21.8% less in Astana
Housing: pay 23.6% less in Astana
Childcare: pay 32.2% more in Astana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.9% less in Astana
Clothing: pay 0.6% less in Astana

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

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

Astana vs. Chisinau Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 8.2% less for restaurants

	Chisinau	Astana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.22 MDL200.58	$11.00 KZT4,981.43	-2.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.70 MDL155.45	$7.83 KZT3,545.72	-10.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.21 MDL21.60	$1.10 KZT498.89	-8.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MDL15.92	$0.66 KZT297.84	-26.1%
Average			-8.2%

Chisinau vs. Astana - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.3% more for groceries

	Chisinau	Astana
Bread 1 loaf	$0.71 MDL12.71	$0.63 KZT283.66	-11.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.89 MDL87.39	$6.10 KZT2,760.59	+24.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.73 MDL84.61	$4.93 KZT2,230.76	+4.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.79 MDL49.81	$2.23 KZT1,008.88	-20.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.36 MDL42.13	$2.69 KZT1,218.61	+14.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.44 MDL7.83	$0.82 KZT369.62	+86.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 MDL15.60	$1.06 KZT482.13	+22.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 MDL16.79	$1.03 KZT468.50	+10.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 MDL17.97	$1.01 KZT456.58	+0.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MDL5.58	$0.31 KZT141.32
Onions (1 lb)	$0.25 MDL4.40	$0.20 KZT91.90	-17.5%
Average			+7.3%

Chisinau vs. Astana - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.8% less for transportation

	Chisinau	Astana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.44 MDL115.06	$2.53 KZT1,144.20	-60.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.52 MDL241.70	$16.78 KZT7,597.96	+24.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,507.41 MDL528K	$24,607.50 KZT11M	-16.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.94 MDL88.26	$11.19 KZT5,065.31	+126.6%
Average			-21.8%

Chisinau vs. Astana - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.6% less for housing

	Chisinau	Astana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.59 MDL189.39	$17.96 KZT8,133.10	+69.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$679.74 MDL12,152.24	$575.82 KZT261K	-15.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$435.34 MDL7,782.96	$394.61 KZT179K	-9.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$185.85 MDL3,322.64	$52.26 KZT23,666.51	-71.9%
Average			-23.6%

Chisinau vs. Astana - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.2% more for childcare

	Chisinau	Astana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$434.06 MDL7,759.94	$374.89 KZT170K	-13.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,841.67 MDL104K	$11,828.93 KZT5M	+102.5%
Average			+32.2%

Chisinau vs. Astana - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Chisinau	Astana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.24 MDL40.12	$1.34 KZT607.84	-40.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.16 MDL38.67	$2.59 KZT1,173.46	+19.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.42 MDL61.18	$2.24 KZT1,013.06	-34.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.67 MDL745.01	$57.61 KZT26,091.29	+38.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 MDL150.43	$6.49 KZT2,937.88	-22.9%
Average			-8.9%

Chisinau vs. Astana - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.6% less for clothing

	Chisinau	Astana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$79.80 MDL1,426.62	$66.09 KZT29,931.37	-17.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.07 MDL841.43	$46.98 KZT21,274.30	-0.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$114.14 MDL2,040.51	$120.13 KZT54,401.42	+5.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.56 MDL2,065.97	$129.87 KZT58,813.86	+12.4%
Average			-0.6%

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

Compare further: Chisinau vs. Astana

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Astana?

More cost comparisons

Chisinau vs.

Shanghai

Chisinau vs.

London

Chisinau vs.

Vienna

Chisinau vs.

Warsaw

Chisinau vs.

Quito

Chisinau vs.

Athens

Chisinau vs.

Berlin

Chisinau vs.

Toronto

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Chisinau

Add prices for Astana

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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