Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

Kazakhstan

Astana vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Astana is 32.2% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 26.3% more in Astana
Groceries: pay 26.8% less in Astana
Transportation: pay 27.8% less in Astana
Housing: pay 51.6% less in Astana
Childcare: pay 9.1% less in Astana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.6% less in Astana
Clothing: pay 9.5% more in Astana

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

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Astana vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.3% more for restaurants

	Riyadh	Astana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.99 SAR29.99	$11.00 KZT4,998.80	+37.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR29.99	$7.83 KZT3,558.08	-2.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$1.10 KZT500.63	+26.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 SAR1.18	$0.66 KZT298.88	+109.8%
Average			+26.3%

Riyadh vs. Astana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.8% less for groceries

	Riyadh	Astana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.29 SAR4.83	$0.63 KZT284.65	-51.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 SAR19.77	$6.10 KZT2,770.22	+15.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 SAR25.38	$4.93 KZT2,238.54	-27.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.08 SAR11.57	$2.23 KZT1,012.40	-27.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 SAR16.27	$2.69 KZT1,222.86	-37.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 SAR4.88	$0.82 KZT370.91	-37.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$1.06 KZT483.81	+21.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 SAR4.23	$1.03 KZT470.13	-8.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR2.99	$1.01 KZT458.18	+26.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 SAR2.04	$0.31 KZT141.81	-42.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 SAR2.21	$0.20 KZT92.22	-65.6%
Average			-26.8%

Riyadh vs. Astana - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.8% less for transportation

	Riyadh	Astana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.81	$2.53 KZT1,148.19	+7.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.31 SAR139.97	$16.78 KZT7,624.46	-55.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,642.08 SAR130K	$24,607.50 KZT11M	-29.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.12 SAR67.99	$11.19 KZT5,082.98	-38.3%
Average			-27.8%

Riyadh vs. Astana - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.6% less for housing

	Riyadh	Astana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$71.73 SAR269.13	$17.96 KZT8,161.47	-75.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,186.87 SAR4,453.00	$575.82 KZT262K	-51.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$833.69 SAR3,127.91	$394.61 KZT179K	-52.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.86 SAR307.12	$52.26 KZT23,749.06	-36.2%
Average			-51.6%

Riyadh vs. Astana - Cost of housing

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pay 9.1% less for childcare

	Riyadh	Astana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$530.73 SAR1,991.25	$374.89 KZT170K	-29.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,105.80 SAR37,915.67	$11,828.93 KZT5M	+17.1%
Average			-9.1%

Riyadh vs. Astana - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Astana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR8.00	$1.34 KZT609.96	-37.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 SAR16.06	$2.59 KZT1,177.56	-39.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.73 SAR28.99	$2.24 KZT1,016.60	-71.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$89.94 SAR337.43	$57.61 KZT26,182.30	-35.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.32 SAR49.99	$6.49 KZT2,948.13	-51.3%
Average			-45.6%

Riyadh vs. Astana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.5% more for clothing

	Riyadh	Astana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.30 SAR218.72	$66.09 KZT30,035.77	+13.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.26 SAR203.59	$46.98 KZT21,348.50	-13.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.59 SAR384.92	$120.13 KZT54,591.17	+17.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.93 SAR389.92	$129.87 KZT59,019.01	+25.0%
Average			+9.5%

Riyadh vs. Astana - 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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