Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Qiqihar

For one person, living is cheaper in Qiqihar: $720 a month against $1,387 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Qiqihar
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Qiqihar Living Index

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Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Qiqihar

🇨🇳 China

$720

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Qiqihar

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

A single person spends $1,387 per month in Almaty vs $720 in Qiqihar, rent included.

Almaty $1,387
Qiqihar $720

A couple spends around $2,135 per month in Almaty vs $1,142 in Qiqihar, rent included.

Almaty $2,135
Qiqihar $1,142

A family of three spends $2,883 per month in Almaty vs $1,564 in Qiqihar, rent included.

Almaty $2,883
Qiqihar $1,564

Almaty costs about 93% more than Qiqihar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Almaty sits 3% above the global median, while Qiqihar is 46% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.31 ₸6,005

$2.83 ¥18.92

370.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 ₸19.6K

$21.69 ¥145

99.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 ₸3,969

$4.98 ¥33.29

76.71%

Cappuccino

$3.30 ₸1,490

$2.97 ¥19.88

11.11%

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

$1.37 ₸617

$0.43 ¥2.88

218.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₸407

$0.29 ¥1.94

210.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 ₸1,412

$0.95 ¥6.36

229.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ₸1,851

$2.04 ¥13.65

100.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₸750

$1.80 ¥12.01

-7.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 ₸404

$1.56 ¥10.42

-42.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 ₸929

$0.95 ¥6.35

116.84%

Eggs

$2.37 ₸1,069

$1.52 ¥10.19

55.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.64 ₸5,702

$12.69 ¥84.8

-0.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 ₸2,985

$3.27 ¥21.82

102.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.87 ₸4,904

$10.05 ¥67.2

8.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₸841

$1.81 ¥12.08

2.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 ₸1,070

$1.25 ¥8.37

89.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 ₸1,351

$1.48 ¥9.92

102.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.83 ₸1,276

$1.14 ¥7.63

148.25%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ₸346

$0.73 ¥4.91

5.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 ₸263

$0.95 ¥6.35

-38.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 ₸719

$0.56 ¥3.74

183.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 ₸447

$0.54 ¥3.63

83.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.54 ₸1,147

$3.22 ¥21.52

-21.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.04 ₸4,981

$10.67 ¥71.3

3.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 ₸548

$0.79 ¥5.27

53.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 ₸1,087

$1.58 ¥10.57

52.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₸113

$0.27 ¥1.79

-7.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.84 ₸9,854

$16.42 ¥110

33.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₸578

$1.36 ¥9.10

-5.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸290

$0.36 ¥2.38

77.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.74 ₸4,847

$6.65 ¥44.42

61.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.69 ₸313

$1.17 ¥7.85

-41.03%

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

$22.3K ₸10.1M

$19.2K ¥128.0K

16.26%

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

$29.3K ₸13.2M

$17.3K ¥115.8K

69.25%

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

$87.8 ₸39.6K

$44.64 ¥298

96.59%

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

$10.83 ₸4,886

$9.87 ¥66.0

9.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.40 ₸7,850

$11.75 ¥78.6

48.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 ₸31.4K

$41.93 ¥280

66.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.58 ₸12.0K

$14.09 ¥94.2

88.64%

Cinema Ticket

$6.68 ₸3,016

$5.84 ¥39.06

14.38%

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

$446 ₸201.2K

$341 ¥2,276

30.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₸5.4M

$16.7K ¥111.7K

-28.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.7 ₸42.3K

$43.36 ¥290

116.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.91 ₸21.2K

$30.65 ¥205

53.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$143 ₸64.4K

$73.2 ¥489

95.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₸60.2K

$71.0 ¥475

87.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$773 ₸349.0K

$283 ¥1,891

173.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 ₸224.4K

$194 ¥1,299

155.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 ₸627.4K

$600 ¥4,009

131.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$880 ₸397.0K

$355 ¥2,372

147.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,546 ₸1.1M

$3,055 ¥20.4K

-16.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,506 ₸679.8K

$2,044 ¥13.7K

-26.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$834 ₸376.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

3.89

430.85%

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

Last update for Almaty: October 5, 2026

Last update for Qiqihar: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$497 36.4%

Qiqihar

$194 27.2% 60.9% $303

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$251 18.4%

Qiqihar

$198 27.6% 21.4% $54

Eating Out

Almaty

$205 15%

Qiqihar

$85 11.9% 58.6% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$188 13.7%

Qiqihar

$98 13.7% 47.6% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$116 8.5%

Qiqihar

$66 9.3% 42.9% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$83 6.1%

Qiqihar

$54 7.5% 35.4% $29

Getting Around

Almaty

$27 2%

Qiqihar

$21 2.9% 24.5% $6.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $773 in Almaty versus $283 in Qiqihar. 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 $43.00 in Almaty versus $22.00 in Qiqihar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $251 vs $198 – making Qiqihar the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇨🇳 Qiqihar

🕒 Local time

11:24 11:24 AM

13:24 1:24 PM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

5,367,003

💱 Currency

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 451 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to KZT in detail →

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Almaty Qiqihar 3,650 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

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Almaty
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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 Qiqihar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 93%, 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 $1,080 in Qiqihar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Qiqihar, 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 $43.00 in Almaty and $22.00 in Qiqihar. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,387 in Almaty and $720 in Qiqihar. That's a gap of about 93%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Qiqihar, where all-in costs run around $720, than in Almaty at $1,387. In Qiqihar it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Qiqihar – 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 Qiqihar. 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.