Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Foshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Foshan: $777 a month against $1,372 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Foshan
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Foshan Living Index

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Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,372

/mo nomad

Foshan

🇨🇳 China

$777

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Foshan

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

A single person spends $1,372 per month in Almaty vs $777 in Foshan, rent included.

Almaty $1,372
Foshan $777

A couple spends around $2,142 per month in Almaty vs $1,242 in Foshan, rent included.

Almaty $2,142
Foshan $1,242

A family of three spends $2,913 per month in Almaty vs $1,708 in Foshan, rent included.

Almaty $2,913
Foshan $1,708

Almaty costs about 77% more than Foshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Almaty sits 2% above the global median, while Foshan is 42% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.16 ₸5,956

$3.78 ¥25.24

248.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.86 ₸20.3K

$22.79 ¥152

96.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.90 ₸4,026

$5.11 ¥34.16

74.17%

Cappuccino

$3.25 ₸1,470

$3.07 ¥20.49

5.86%

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

$1.41 ₸640

$0.52 ¥3.48

171.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 ₸399

$0.31 ¥2.09

183.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₸1,514

$1.22 ¥8.16

174.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 ₸1,829

$1.89 ¥12.60

113.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 ₸763

$1.66 ¥11.10

1.81%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 ₸391

$1.12 ¥7.47

-23.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 ₸918

$0.92 ¥6.16

120.65%

Eggs

$2.43 ₸1,101

$1.70 ¥11.37

42.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.46 ₸5,639

$16.68 ¥111

-25.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 ₸3,037

$3.92 ¥26.16

71.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.85 ₸4,910

$10.69 ¥71.4

1.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 ₸814

$3.01 ¥20.14

-40.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 ₸1,019

$1.27 ¥8.50

77.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.91 ₸1,315

$1.90 ¥12.68

53.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.75 ₸1,245

$1.63 ¥10.91

68.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 ₸338

$1.09 ¥7.26

-31.19%

Onion (1kg)

$0.55 ₸248

$0.95 ¥6.38

-42.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 ₸733

$0.64 ¥4.25

153.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 ₸474

$0.50 ¥3.36

110.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.58 ₸1,168

$2.23 ¥14.88

15.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 ₸5,048

$10.23 ¥68.4

8.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 ₸547

$0.93 ¥6.23

30.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 ₸1,105

$1.51 ¥10.12

61.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₸117

$0.31 ¥2.08

-16.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.03 ₸9,968

$10.62 ¥71.0

107.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₸612

$1.52 ¥10.17

-11.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸288

$0.47 ¥3.15

36.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.16 ₸5,050

$8.81 ¥58.9

26.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.72 ₸324

$1.22 ¥8.18

-40.98%

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

$22.5K ₸10.2M

$21.3K ¥142.2K

5.82%

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

$30.3K ₸13.7M

$16.2K ¥108.2K

86.91%

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

$91.8 ₸41.5K

$84.5 ¥565

8.63%

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

$10.66 ₸4,826

$7.92 ¥52.9

34.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.86 ₸8,081

$15.69 ¥105

13.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.3 ₸31.8K

$71.4 ¥477

-1.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.60 ₸12.5K

$23.83 ¥159

15.82%

Cinema Ticket

$6.78 ₸3,067

$5.31 ¥35.48

27.68%

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

$449 ₸203.1K

$457 ¥3,052

-1.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K ₸5.5M

$23.3K ¥155.6K

-48.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 ₸40.7K

$42.21 ¥282

113.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.02 ₸21.3K

$18.76 ¥125

150.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$142 ₸64.2K

$62.1 ¥415

128.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₸60.1K

$91.8 ¥613

44.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 ₸364.2K

$304 ¥2,030

164.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₸226.1K

$159 ¥1,060

214.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,429 ₸646.6K

$596 ¥3,979

139.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$904 ₸409.3K

$341 ¥2,277

165.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,503 ₸1.1M

$4,329 ¥28.9K

-42.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,559 ₸705.5K

$1,864 ¥12.5K

-16.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$870 ₸393.7K

$802 ¥5,358

8.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

3.83

439.16%

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

Last update for Almaty: October 10, 2026

Last update for Foshan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$500 36.4%

Foshan

$159 20.4% 68.3% $341

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$250 18.3%

Foshan

$220 28.4% 12% $30

Eating Out

Almaty

$205 14.9%

Foshan

$96 12.3% 53.4% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$185 13.5%

Foshan

$97 12.4% 47.8% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$120 8.8%

Foshan

$108 13.9% 10.1% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$84 6.1%

Foshan

$82 10.6% 2.3% $1.9

Getting Around

Almaty

$28 2%

Foshan

$16 2% 43% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Almaty versus $304 in Foshan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 8% higher in Almaty, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Almaty versus $23.00 in Foshan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $250 vs $220 – making Foshan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇨🇳 Foshan

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

18:00 6:00 PM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

9,498,863

💱 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 16, 2026: 1 USD = 453 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KZT in detail →

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Between locations

Almaty Foshan 4,000 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Almaty
Foshan

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 Foshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 77%, 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 $1,166 in Foshan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Foshan, 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 $23.00 in Foshan. 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 $777 in Foshan. That's a gap of about 77%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Foshan, where all-in costs run around $777, than in Almaty at $1,372. In Foshan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Foshan. 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.