Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Kazakhstan

Almaty vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Almaty is 7.9% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 61.0% more in Almaty
Groceries: pay 19.5% less in Almaty
Transportation: pay 16.0% less in Almaty
Housing: pay 4.2% less in Almaty
Childcare: pay 72.8% less in Almaty
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.6% less in Almaty
Clothing: pay 21.6% more in Almaty

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

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Almaty vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 61.0% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Almaty
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥28.50	$7.33 KZT3,459.35	+74.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.61 CN¥37.99	$6.41 KZT3,026.93	+14.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.56	$0.93 KZT438.12	+76.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 CN¥2.21	$0.58 KZT275.51	+78.7%
Average			+61.0%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.5% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Almaty
Bread 1 loaf	$1.86 CN¥12.59	$0.53 KZT251.66	-71.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.08 CN¥54.74	$4.58 KZT2,164.10	-43.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.27 CN¥56.02	$4.84 KZT2,286.21	-41.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥11.82	$1.66 KZT785.12	-4.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.36 CN¥9.22	$1.93 KZT908.98	+41.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.00 CN¥6.80	$0.59 KZT277.43	-41.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 CN¥5.28	$0.83 KZT390.49	+6.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 CN¥5.69	$0.82 KZT386.77	-2.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 CN¥4.48	$0.84 KZT396.42	+27.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.34	$0.27 KZT128.59	-21.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 CN¥3.32	$0.18 KZT85.07	-63.2%
Average			-19.5%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.0% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Almaty
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.24 CN¥28.71	$1.81 KZT854.51	-57.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.05 CN¥237.47	$18.14 KZT8,561.89	-48.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,627.64 CN¥133K	$22,900.61 KZT11M	+16.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.61 CN¥37.99	$7.01 KZT3,308.00	+25.0%
Average			-16.0%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.2% less for housing

	Shanghai	Almaty
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.37 CN¥83.84	$12.90 KZT6,090.05	+4.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$926.30 CN¥6,275.90	$645.61 KZT305K	-30.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$551.44 CN¥3,736.14	$437.19 KZT206K	-20.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$40.55 CN¥274.71	$52.67 KZT24,861.89	+29.9%
Average			-4.2%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of housing

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pay 72.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Almaty
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,229.70 CN¥8,331.47	$258.77 KZT122K	-79.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$29,777.93 CN¥202K	$9,972.39 KZT5M	-66.5%
Average			-72.8%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Almaty
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.40 CN¥9.50	$1.28 KZT605.39	-8.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.25 CN¥22.01	$2.28 KZT1,074.69	-29.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.80 CN¥19.00	$1.83 KZT864.84	-34.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.60 CN¥390.24	$48.33 KZT22,814.37	-16.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥56.99	$5.13 KZT2,421.54	-39.0%
Average			-25.6%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.6% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Almaty
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.70 CN¥316.43	$70.28 KZT33,178.30	+50.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.62 CN¥254.91	$40.36 KZT19,054.18	+7.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 CN¥490.05	$92.56 KZT43,693.07	+28.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.50 CN¥741.92	$109.97 KZT51,913.51	+0.4%
Average			+21.6%

Shanghai 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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