Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Baiquan

For one person, living is cheaper in Baiquan: $731 a month against $1,363 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
Learn more

Almaty Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Baiquan
Learn more

Baiquan Living Index

Jump to prices

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,363

/mo nomad

Baiquan

🇨🇳 China

$731

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Baiquan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Almaty and in Baiquan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,372 per month in Almaty vs $729 in Baiquan, rent included.

Almaty $1,372
Baiquan $729

A couple spends around $2,142 per month in Almaty vs $1,151 in Baiquan, rent included.

Almaty $2,142
Baiquan $1,151

A family of three spends $2,913 per month in Almaty vs $1,574 in Baiquan, rent included.

Almaty $2,913
Baiquan $1,574

Almaty costs about 88% more than Baiquan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Almaty sits 2% above the global median, while Baiquan is 46% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.05 ₸5,899

$2.93 ¥19.60

345.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.44 ₸19.6K

$22.30 ¥149

94.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 ₸3,962

$5.12 ¥34.22

71.09%

Cappuccino

$3.32 ₸1,501

$2.80 ¥18.71

18.57%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 ₸607

$0.51 ¥3.38

162.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 ₸374

$0.29 ¥1.92

186.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.36 ₸1,518

$1.07 ¥7.12

214.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 ₸1,818

$2.12 ¥14.16

89.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ₸747

$1.81 ¥12.10

-8.84%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 ₸421

$1.58 ¥10.53

-41.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 ₸927

$1.01 ¥6.74

102.97%

Eggs

$2.46 ₸1,113

$1.68 ¥11.26

46.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.49 ₸5,646

$13.20 ¥88.3

-5.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 ₸3,035

$3.45 ¥23.04

94.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.85 ₸4,905

$11.23 ¥75.1

-3.38%

Apples (1kg)

$1.78 ₸807

$1.83 ¥12.24

-2.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 ₸1,018

$1.29 ¥8.62

74.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 ₸1,299

$1.54 ¥10.33

86.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 ₸1,227

$1.32 ¥8.79

105.30%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 ₸362

$0.69 ¥4.63

15.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.55 ₸249

$0.90 ¥6.01

-38.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 ₸732

$0.63 ¥4.18

157.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ₸453

$0.59 ¥3.94

69.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.58 ₸1,167

$3.77 ¥25.18

-31.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 ₸5,039

$11.46 ¥76.6

-2.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 ₸572

$0.88 ¥5.91

43.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₸1,120

$1.55 ¥10.38

60.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₸128

$0.29 ¥1.91

-3.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.05 ₸9,970

$18.19 ¥122

21.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 ₸607

$1.45 ¥9.72

-7.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸288

$0.36 ¥2.39

77.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.04 ₸4,993

$7.01 ¥46.87

57.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.72 ₸326

$1.31 ¥8.74

-45.04%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.1K ₸12.7M

$19.4K ¥129.7K

45.09%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.8K ₸14.4M

$17.6K ¥117.6K

80.88%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$90.5 ₸40.9K

$58.6 ¥392

54.50%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$10.63 ₸4,805

$8.58 ¥57.4

23.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.12 ₸8,190

$11.38 ¥76.1

59.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.0 ₸31.2K

$41.43 ¥277

66.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.98 ₸12.2K

$15.06 ¥101

79.15%

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 ₸3,062

$6.32 ¥42.23

7.12%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$444 ₸200.6K

$414 ¥2,767

7.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K ₸5.4M

$17.1K ¥114.6K

-30.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.9 ₸41.5K

$42.47 ¥284

116.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.80 ₸21.6K

$33.93 ¥227

40.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 ₸63.0K

$73.4 ¥491

89.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₸59.4K

$75.1 ¥502

75.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$777 ₸351.2K

$302 ¥2,022

156.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$494 ₸223.4K

$181 ¥1,208

173.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 ₸650.4K

$635 ¥4,248

126.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$905 ₸409.2K

$382 ¥2,555

136.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,470 ₸1.1M

$3,478 ¥23.3K

-28.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,517 ₸685.7K

$1,913 ¥12.8K

-20.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$857 ₸387.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

3.36

514.58%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Almaty: October 18, 2026

Last update for Baiquan: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$494 36.3%

Baiquan

$181 24.7% 63.4% $313

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$251 18.4%

Baiquan

$209 28.5% 16.7% $42

Eating Out

Almaty

$204 15%

Baiquan

$85 11.7% 58.3% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$185 13.6%

Baiquan

$101 13.9% 45.2% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$119 8.8%

Baiquan

$79 10.8% 34.1% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$83 6.1%

Baiquan

$54 7.4% 34.5% $28

Getting Around

Almaty

$28 2%

Baiquan

$23 3.1% 18.5% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Almaty versus $295 in Baiquan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Almaty versus $20.00 in Baiquan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $250 vs $202 – making Baiquan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇨🇳 Baiquan

🕒 Local time

15:56 3:56 PM

17:56 5:56 PM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

💱 Currency

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to KZT – Kazakhstani Tenge Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇿 Kazakhstani Tenge (₸)

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KZT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Almaty Baiquan 3,250 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Almaty
Baiquan

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Almaty vs Baiquan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 88%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,058 per month in Almaty and $1,093 in Baiquan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Baiquan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Almaty and $20.00 in Baiquan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,372 in Almaty and $729 in Baiquan. That's a gap of about 88%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Baiquan, where all-in costs run around $729, than in Almaty at $1,372. In Baiquan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Baiquan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Baiquan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Almaty makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.