Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Darkhan

For one person, living is cheaper in Darkhan: $655 a month against $1,387 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Darkhan
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Darkhan Living Index

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Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Darkhan

🇲🇳 Mongolia

$655

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Darkhan

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 Darkhan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,387 per month in Almaty vs $655 in Darkhan, rent included.

Almaty $1,387
Darkhan $655

A couple spends around $2,135 per month in Almaty vs $1,075 in Darkhan, rent included.

Almaty $2,135
Darkhan $1,075

A family of three spends $2,883 per month in Almaty vs $1,496 in Darkhan, rent included.

Almaty $2,883
Darkhan $1,496

Almaty costs about 112% more than Darkhan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Almaty sits 3% above the global median, while Darkhan is 51% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.31 ₸6,034

$5.46 MNT 19.6K

143.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 ₸19.7K

$31.74 MNT 114.0K

36.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 ₸3,988

$5.62 MNT 20.2K

56.58%

Cappuccino

$3.30 ₸1,497

$2.39 MNT 8,575

38.08%

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

$1.37 ₸620

$0.87 MNT 3,140

57.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₸409

$0.57 MNT 2,065

57.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 ₸1,419

$2.35 MNT 8,427

33.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ₸1,860

$3.41 MNT 12.3K

20.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₸754

$1.44 MNT 5,184

15.28%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 ₸406

$1.02 MNT 3,653

-11.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 ₸933

$2.06 MNT 7,389

Eggs

$2.37 ₸1,074

$2.16 MNT 7,750

9.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.64 ₸5,730

$12.46 MNT 44.8K

1.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 ₸3,000

$4.87 MNT 17.5K

35.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.87 ₸4,928

$7.44 MNT 26.7K

46.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₸845

$3.21 MNT 11.5K

-42.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 ₸1,075

$2.39 MNT 8,592

-0.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 ₸1,358

$3.84 MNT 13.8K

-22.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.83 ₸1,282

$3.07 MNT 11.0K

-7.82%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ₸347

$0.71 MNT 2,567

8.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 ₸264

$1.05 MNT 3,772

-44.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 ₸723

$1.71 MNT 6,146

-7.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 ₸449

$0.73 MNT 2,626

35.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.54 ₸1,153

$1.67 MNT 5,985

52.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.04 ₸5,005

$10.29 MNT 37.0K

7.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 ₸550

$1.43 MNT 5,126

-15.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 ₸1,093

$1.80 MNT 6,455

33.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₸113

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.84 ₸9,901

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₸581

$0.55 MNT 1,967

132.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸291

$0.54 MNT 1,950

18.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.74 ₸4,870

$6.48 MNT 23.3K

65.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.69 ₸314

$1.07 MNT 3,852

-35.51%

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

$22.3K ₸10.1M

$27.3K MNT 98.2M

-18.51%

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

$29.3K ₸13.3M

$35.4K MNT 127.4M

-17.23%

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

$87.8 ₸39.8K

$70.6 MNT 253.8K

24.25%

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

$10.83 ₸4,909

$7.68 MNT 27.6K

41.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.40 ₸7,887

$13.82 MNT 49.7K

25.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 ₸31.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.58 ₸12.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.68 ₸3,031

$4.24 MNT 15.2K

57.55%

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

$446 ₸202.2K

$831 MNT 3.0M

-46.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₸5.4M

$8,568 MNT 30.8M

38.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.7 ₸42.5K

$83.5 MNT 299.8K

12.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.91 ₸21.3K

$45.49 MNT 163.5K

3.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$143 ₸64.7K

$103 MNT 371.8K

37.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₸60.5K

$185 MNT 665.6K

-27.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$773 ₸350.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 ₸225.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 ₸630.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$880 ₸398.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,546 ₸1.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,506 ₸683.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$834 ₸377.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

10.32

100.10%

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

Last update for Almaty: October 5, 2026

Last update for Darkhan: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$497 36.4%

Darkhan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$251 18.4%

Darkhan

$238 37% 5.4% $14

Eating Out

Almaty

$205 15%

Darkhan

$114 17.7% 44.7% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$188 13.7%

Darkhan

$188 29.2% 0.2% $0.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$116 8.5%

Darkhan

$92 14.3% 20.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$83 6.1%

Darkhan

$8.5 * 1.3% 89.8% $75

Getting Around

Almaty

$27 2%

Darkhan

$3.3 * 0.5% 88.1% $24

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Almaty versus $32.00 in Darkhan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $251 vs $238 – making Darkhan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇲🇳 Darkhan

🕒 Local time

11:00 11:00 AM

13:00 1:00 PM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

74,738

💱 Currency

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

Mongolian Tögrög MNT ₮

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD

10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MNT, USD, EUR to KZT – Kazakhstani Tenge Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇿 Kazakhstani Tenge (₸)

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 453 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 509 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

Mongolian Tögrög exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,593 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD). 1 EUR = 4,030 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR).

USD to KZT in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Almaty Darkhan 2,310 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Almaty
Darkhan

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 Darkhan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 112%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,080 per month in Almaty and $983 in Darkhan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,387 in Almaty and $655 in Darkhan. That's a gap of about 112%.

Kindergarten costs $446 per month in Almaty and $831 in Darkhan. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Darkhan, where all-in costs run around $655, than in Almaty at $1,387. In Darkhan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Darkhan – 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 Darkhan. 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.