Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Kazakhstan

Astana vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Astana is 15.1% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 94.5% more in Astana
Groceries: pay 11.3% less in Astana
Transportation: pay 21.4% less in Astana
Housing: pay 29.0% less in Astana
Childcare: pay 66.3% less in Astana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.5% less in Astana
Clothing: pay 31.7% more in Astana

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

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Astana vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 94.5% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Astana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$11.00 KZT4,985.16	+145.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$7.83 KZT3,548.37	+50.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.10 KZT499.26	+83.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.66 KZT298.06	+77.8%
Average			+94.5%

Shanghai vs. Astana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.3% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Astana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.63 KZT283.87	-68.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$6.10 KZT2,762.66	-29.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.93 KZT2,232.43	-28.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.23 KZT1,009.64	+31.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.69 KZT1,219.52	+82.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.82 KZT369.90	-17.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.06 KZT482.49	+38.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.03 KZT468.85	+14.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.01 KZT456.93	+31.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.31 KZT141.42	-12.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.20 KZT91.97	-53.2%
Average			-11.3%

Shanghai vs. Astana - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.4% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Astana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$2.53 KZT1,145.06	-49.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$16.78 KZT7,603.65	-43.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$24,607.50 KZT11M	+27.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$11.19 KZT5,069.10	+97.3%
Average			-21.4%

Shanghai vs. Astana - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.0% less for housing

	Shanghai	Astana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$17.96 KZT8,139.19	+70.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$575.82 KZT261K	-44.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$394.61 KZT179K	-33.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$52.26 KZT23,684.23	+18.6%
Average			-29.0%

Shanghai vs. Astana - Cost of housing

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pay 66.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Astana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$374.89 KZT170K	-73.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$11,828.93 KZT5M	-57.3%
Average			-66.3%

Shanghai vs. Astana - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Astana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.34 KZT608.29	+12.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.59 KZT1,174.34	-22.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$2.24 KZT1,013.82	-40.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$57.61 KZT26,110.84	-12.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$6.49 KZT2,940.08	-27.5%
Average			-17.5%

Shanghai vs. Astana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.7% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Astana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$66.09 KZT29,953.79	+21.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$46.98 KZT21,290.23	+26.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$120.13 KZT54,442.17	+59.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$129.87 KZT58,857.92	+22.9%
Average			+31.7%

Shanghai 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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