Cost of living comparison

Tajikistan

compared to

Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek vs. Dushanbe Cost of Living Summary

Bishkek is 3.6% more expensive than Dushanbe.

Restaurants: pay 23.4% more in Bishkek
Groceries: pay 12.5% less in Bishkek
Transportation: pay 10.1% less in Bishkek
Housing: pay 1.2% less in Bishkek
Childcare: pay 90.6% more in Bishkek
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.3% more in Bishkek
Clothing: pay 36.5% more in Bishkek

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

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Bishkek vs. Dushanbe Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.4% more for restaurants

	Dushanbe	Bishkek
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.88 TJS44.99	$6.86 KGS600.01	+40.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.42 TJS49.99	$5.83 KGS510.01	+7.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 TJS5.57	$0.74 KGS65.00	+23.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.35 TJS3.25	$0.39 KGS33.88	+10.0%
Average			+23.4%

Dushanbe vs. Bishkek - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.5% less for groceries

	Dushanbe	Bishkek
Bread 1 loaf	$0.62 TJS5.69	$0.40 KGS34.67	-35.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.53 TJS50.99	$3.82 KGS334.23	-30.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.10 TJS37.85	$3.81 KGS333.12	-7.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.81 TJS16.68	$1.73 KGS151.13	-4.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.96 TJS18.07	$2.08 KGS181.82	+6.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TJS7.86	$0.63 KGS54.76	-26.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.29 TJS11.87	$0.84 KGS73.57	-34.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.20 TJS11.11	$0.93 KGS81.76	-22.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 TJS5.22	$0.72 KGS62.84	+27.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 TJS2.56	$0.27 KGS23.90	-1.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.19 TJS1.74	$0.22 KGS19.28	+17.0%
Average			-12.5%

Dushanbe vs. Bishkek - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.1% less for transportation

	Dushanbe	Bishkek
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.37 TJS40.37	$3.74 KGS326.93	-14.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.50 TJS299.95	$11.66 KGS1,020.02	-64.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,250.83 TJS150K	$29,991.94 KGS3M	+84.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.68 TJS33.99	$4.52 KGS395.01	+22.6%
Average			-10.1%

Dushanbe vs. Bishkek - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.2% less for housing

	Dushanbe	Bishkek
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.18 TJS158.54	$12.00 KGS1,049.18	-30.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$628.00 TJS5,795.70	$603.19 KGS52,748.92	-4.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$352.75 TJS3,255.46	$416.93 KGS36,460.58	+18.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$51.70 TJS477.10	$38.42 KGS3,359.98	-25.7%
Average			-1.2%

Dushanbe vs. Bishkek - Cost of housing

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pay 90.6% more for childcare

	Dushanbe	Bishkek
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$83.42 TJS769.87	$219.56 KGS19,200.33	+163.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,679.67 TJS52,416.23	$7,837.88 KGS685K	+38.0%
Average			+90.6%

Dushanbe vs. Bishkek - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Dushanbe	Bishkek
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 TJS11.00	$1.37 KGS120.00	+15.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 TJS16.50	$2.43 KGS212.36	+35.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.79 TJS34.99	$2.06 KGS180.00	-45.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.50 TJS419.93	$54.84 KGS4,795.54	+20.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.42 TJS49.99	$5.72 KGS500.01	+5.6%
Average			+9.3%

Dushanbe vs. Bishkek - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.5% more for clothing

	Dushanbe	Bishkek
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.38 TJS224.96	$55.40 KGS4,844.53	+127.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.65 TJS485.92	$43.07 KGS3,766.73	-18.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.64 TJS716.55	$90.57 KGS7,920.14	+16.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.34 TJS519.91	$90.22 KGS7,890.14	+60.2%
Average			+36.5%

Dushanbe vs. Bishkek - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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