Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Taipa

For one person, living is cheaper in Almaty: $1,387 a month against $2,021 in Taipa, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
98

Cost of Living Index in Taipa
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Taipa Living Index

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Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Taipa

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,021

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Taipa

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

A single person spends $1,387 per month in Almaty vs $2,021 in Taipa, rent included.

Almaty $1,387
Taipa $2,021

A couple spends around $2,135 per month in Almaty vs $3,175 in Taipa, rent included.

Almaty $2,135
Taipa $3,175

A family of three spends $2,883 per month in Almaty vs $4,330 in Taipa, rent included.

Almaty $2,883
Taipa $4,330

Almaty is about 31% cheaper than Taipa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Almaty and Taipa sit above the global median – Almaty by 3%, Taipa by 51%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.31 ₸6,034

$6.30 MOP 50.9

111.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 ₸19.7K

$56.6 MOP 458

-23.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 ₸3,988

$5.96 MOP 48.13

47.65%

Cappuccino

$3.30 ₸1,497

$4.87 MOP 39.38

-32.24%

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

$1.37 ₸620

$0.77 MOP 6.21

77.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₸409

$0.36 MOP 2.90

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 ₸1,419

$5.87 MOP 47.47

-46.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ₸1,860

$7.20 MOP 58.2

-43.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₸754

$3.14 MOP 25.41

-47.13%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 ₸406

$1.76 MOP 14.19

-48.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 ₸933

$1.73 MOP 13.97

19.08%

Eggs

$2.37 ₸1,074

$3.35 MOP 27.06

-29.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.64 ₸5,730

$16.42 MOP 133

-23.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 ₸3,000

$19.52 MOP 158

-66.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.87 ₸4,928

$28.67 MOP 232

-62.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₸845

$2.66 MOP 21.49

-30.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 ₸1,075

$2.92 MOP 23.58

-18.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 ₸1,358

$1.90 MOP 15.32

57.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.83 ₸1,282

$2.37 MOP 19.14

19.41%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ₸347

$4.04 MOP 32.67

-80.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 ₸264

$2.83 MOP 22.91

-79.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 ₸723

$0.62 MOP 5.03

156.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 ₸449

$1.18 MOP 9.54

-16.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.54 ₸1,153

$6.88 MOP 55.6

-63.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.04 ₸5,005

$12.16 MOP 98.3

-9.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 ₸550

$1.78 MOP 14.35

-32.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 ₸1,093

$2.26 MOP 18.27

6.64%

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

$2.55 MOP 20.64

-49.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸291

$1.25 MOP 10.06

-48.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.74 ₸4,870

$15.06 MOP 122

-28.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.69 ₸314

$1.83 MOP 14.81

-62.30%

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

$22.3K ₸10.1M

$31.5K MOP 254.6K

-29.28%

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

$29.3K ₸13.3M

$31.8K MOP 257.1K

-7.77%

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

$87.8 ₸39.8K

$122 MOP 984

-27.91%

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

$10.83 ₸4,909

$23.67 MOP 191

-54.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.40 ₸7,887

$36.90 MOP 298

-52.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 ₸31.6K

$73.7 MOP 596

-5.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.58 ₸12.1K

$3.74 MOP 30.22

610.70%

Cinema Ticket

$6.68 ₸3,031

$12.47 MOP 101

-46.43%

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

$446 ₸202.2K

$1,203 MOP 9,723

-62.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₸5.4M

$18.7K MOP 150.8K

-36.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.7 ₸42.5K

$69.9 MOP 565

34.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.91 ₸21.3K

$34.04 MOP 275

37.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$143 ₸64.7K

$93.2 MOP 754

53.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₸60.5K

$138 MOP 1,113

-3.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$773 ₸350.6K

$1,065 MOP 8,607

-27.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 ₸225.5K

$1,001 MOP 8,089

-50.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 ₸630.4K

$2,130 MOP 17.2K

-34.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$880 ₸398.9K

$1,891 MOP 15.3K

-53.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,546 ₸1.2M

$15.9K MOP 128.2K

-83.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,506 ₸683.0K

$13.6K MOP 109.8K

-88.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$834 ₸377.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

588.33%

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

Last update for Almaty: October 5, 2026

Last update for Taipa: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$497 36.4%

Taipa

$1K 49.1% 101% $503

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$251 18.4%

Taipa

$425 20.8% 69% $173

Eating Out

Almaty

$205 15%

Taipa

$175 8.6% 14.8% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$188 13.7%

Taipa

$151 7.4% 19.6% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$116 8.5%

Taipa

$182 8.9% 57.2% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$83 6.1%

Taipa

$99 4.8% 18.8% $16

Getting Around

Almaty

$27 2%

Taipa

$8.8 * 0.4% 67.9% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $773 in Almaty versus $1,065 in Taipa. 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 $57.0 in Taipa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $251 vs $425 – making Almaty the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇲🇴 Taipa

🕒 Local time

14:27 2:27 PM

16:27 4:27 PM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

78,497

💱 Currency

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

Macanese Pataca MOP P

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MOP, 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).

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 MOP (1 MOP = 0.11 EUR).

USD to KZT in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Almaty Taipa 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Almaty
Taipa

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 Taipa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Taipa is pricier by about 46%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,080 per month in Almaty and $3,031 in Taipa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,387 in Almaty and $2,021 in Taipa. That's a gap of about 46%.

Kindergarten costs $446 per month in Almaty and $1,203 in Taipa. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Almaty, where all-in costs run around $1,387, than in Taipa at $2,021. In Almaty it covers expenses comfortably, while in Taipa it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Almaty – 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 Almaty. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Taipa makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.