Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome Cost of Living Summary

Bishkek is 45.1% more expensive than Sao Tome.

Restaurants
pay 65.3% less in Bishkek
Groceries
pay 52.1% less in Bishkek
Transportation
pay 51.3% less in Bishkek
Housing
pay 7.3% more in Bishkek
Entertainment and Sports
pay 20.0% less in Bishkek
Clothing
pay 5.5 times more in Bishkek

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

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bishkek instead of Sao Tome, you would:

pay 65.3% less for restaurants

 
Sao Tome
Bishkek
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $29.20
STD651K
$6.86
KGS600.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.68
STD260K
$5.72
KGS500.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.92
STD42,768
$0.69
KGS60.00

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pay 52.1% less for groceries

 
Sao Tome
Bishkek
Bread
1 loaf
$1.08
STD24,088
$0.49
KGS42.62
Local cheese (8 oz) $10.22
STD228K
$4.06
KGS355.39
Milk (1 gallon) $5.97
STD133K
$3.57
KGS312.12

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pay 51.3% less for transportation

 
Sao Tome
Bishkek
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.40
STD143K
$3.11
KGS272.26
Monthly public transit pass ?? $11.66
KGS1,020.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $37,735.85
KGS3M

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pay 7.3% more for housing

 
Sao Tome
Bishkek
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.42
STD2M
$11.91
KGS1,041.67
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $350.40
STD8M
$506.26
KGS44,272.71
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $233.60
STD5M
$375.78
KGS32,861.85

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Sao Tome
Bishkek
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $199.59
KGS17,454.55
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $5,249.21
KGS459K

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pay 20.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Sao Tome
Bishkek
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.67
STD37,216
$1.37
KGS120.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.34
STD52,050
$2.13
KGS186.30
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.34
STD52,050
$1.83
KGS160.00

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pay 5.5 times more for clothing

 
Sao Tome
Bishkek
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $38.88
KGS3,400.00
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $39.76
KGS3,476.92
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $96.12
KGS8,405.88

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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: June 2026
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