Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Kazakhstan

Almaty vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Almaty is 3.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Almaty
Groceries: pay 6.1% more in Almaty
Transportation: pay 20.9% less in Almaty
Housing: pay 6.0% less in Almaty
Childcare: pay 62.3% less in Almaty
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.4% more in Almaty
Clothing: pay 53.4% more in Almaty

The cost of restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Almaty are more expensive than in Shanghai. Expenses including childcare, transportation, and housing are lower in Almaty. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive 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 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Almaty
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$13.42 KZT6,082.92	+200.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$8.95 KZT4,055.28	+71.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.36 KZT615.44	+126.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.91 KZT410.90	+145.1%
Average			+135.0%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.1% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Almaty
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.94 KZT425.21	-52.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$6.46 KZT2,925.52	-24.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.48 KZT2,938.79	-5.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.45 KZT1,109.97	+44.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$3.09 KZT1,401.59	+109.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.86 KZT387.73	-13.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.06 KZT481.68	+37.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.37 KZT621.58	+51.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.34 KZT605.34	+73.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.35 KZT160.60	-1.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.26 KZT119.25	-39.3%
Average			+6.1%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.9% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Almaty
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$2.64 KZT1,198.22	-46.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$22.15 KZT10,036.82	-25.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$22,370.46 KZT10M	+15.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$6.71 KZT3,041.46	+18.4%
Average			-20.9%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.0% less for housing

	Shanghai	Almaty
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$18.11 KZT8,207.89	+71.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$802.28 KZT364K	-22.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$513.47 KZT233K	-12.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$69.56 KZT31,526.07	+57.9%
Average			-6.0%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of housing

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pay 62.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Almaty
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$456.34 KZT207K	-67.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$12,216.13 KZT6M	-55.9%
Average			-62.3%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Almaty
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$3.24 KZT1,470.04	+171.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.30 KZT1,497.69	-1.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$2.63 KZT1,191.24	-29.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$70.49 KZT31,945.91	+7.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$6.71 KZT3,041.46	-25.0%
Average			+11.4%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.4% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Almaty
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$96.07 KZT43,537.96	+76.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$47.45 KZT21,502.09	+27.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$145.68 KZT66,021.45	+93.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$134.22 KZT60,829.24	+27.0%
Average			+53.4%

Shanghai vs. Almaty - 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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