Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Kazakhstan

Almaty vs. Sandton Cost of Living Summary

Almaty is 4.9% cheaper than Sandton.

Restaurants: pay 7.7% less in Almaty
Groceries: pay 17.5% less in Almaty
Transportation: pay 33.8% less in Almaty
Housing: pay 23.6% less in Almaty
Childcare: pay 53.8% more in Almaty
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.7% less in Almaty
Clothing: pay 14.0% more in Almaty

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

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Almaty vs. Sandton Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.7% less for restaurants

	Sandton	Almaty
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.60 ZAR141.42	$7.33 KZT3,459.35	-14.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.02 ZAR82.49	$6.41 KZT3,026.93	+27.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR17.69	$0.93 KZT438.12	-13.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.74	$0.58 KZT275.51	-30.1%
Average			-7.7%

Sandton vs. Almaty - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.5% less for groceries

	Sandton	Almaty
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.56	$0.53 KZT251.66	-50.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.02 ZAR66.11	$4.58 KZT2,164.10	+14.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.68 ZAR76.96	$4.84 KZT2,286.21	+3.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 ZAR40.50	$1.66 KZT785.12	-32.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.10 ZAR34.57	$1.93 KZT908.98	-8.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.45	$0.59 KZT277.43	-22.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.65	$0.83 KZT390.49	+16.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.75 ZAR12.27	$0.82 KZT386.77	+9.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 ZAR13.12	$0.84 KZT396.42	+5.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.75	$0.27 KZT128.59	-54.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR11.56	$0.18 KZT85.07	-74.4%
Average			-17.5%

Sandton vs. Almaty - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.8% less for transportation

	Sandton	Almaty
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.97 ZAR81.74	$1.81 KZT854.51	-63.6%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$18.14 KZT8,561.89
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,935.00 ZAR377K	$22,900.61 KZT11M	-0.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.24 ZAR184.78	$7.01 KZT3,308.00	-37.6%
Average			-33.8%

Sandton vs. Almaty - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.6% less for housing

	Sandton	Almaty
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.62 ZAR684.28	$12.90 KZT6,090.05	-69.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$515.85 ZAR8,481.80	$645.61 KZT305K	+25.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$458.70 ZAR7,542.17	$437.19 KZT206K	-4.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.15 ZAR1,597.34	$52.67 KZT24,861.89	-45.8%
Average			-23.6%

Sandton vs. Almaty - Cost of housing

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pay 53.8% more for childcare

	Sandton	Almaty
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$201.83 ZAR3,318.56	$258.77 KZT122K	+28.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,558.87 ZAR91,401.73	$9,972.39 KZT5M	+79.4%
Average			+53.8%

Sandton vs. Almaty - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Sandton	Almaty
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.29 ZAR37.71	$1.28 KZT605.39	-44.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.21 ZAR36.39	$2.28 KZT1,074.69	+2.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.87 ZAR47.14	$1.83 KZT864.84	-36.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.96 ZAR722.79	$48.33 KZT22,814.37	+9.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.45 ZAR122.56	$5.13 KZT2,421.54	-31.2%
Average			-19.7%

Sandton vs. Almaty - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.0% more for clothing

	Sandton	Almaty
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.84 ZAR885.30	$70.28 KZT33,178.30	+30.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.31 ZAR679.22	$40.36 KZT19,054.18	-2.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.70 ZAR1,524.15	$92.56 KZT43,693.07	-0.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.01 ZAR1,414.16	$109.97 KZT51,913.51	+27.9%
Average			+14.0%

Sandton 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: July 2026

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