Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Xining

For one person, living is cheaper in Xining: $723 a month against $1,387 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Xining
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Xining Living Index

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Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Xining

🇨🇳 China

$723

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Xining

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

A single person spends $1,387 per month in Almaty vs $723 in Xining, rent included.

Almaty $1,387
Xining $723

A couple spends around $2,135 per month in Almaty vs $1,143 in Xining, rent included.

Almaty $2,135
Xining $1,143

A family of three spends $2,883 per month in Almaty vs $1,562 in Xining, rent included.

Almaty $2,883
Xining $1,562

Almaty costs about 92% more than Xining, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.31 ₸6,005

$2.74 ¥18.34

385.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 ₸19.6K

$21.93 ¥147

97.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 ₸3,969

$4.86 ¥32.48

81.07%

Cappuccino

$3.30 ₸1,490

$2.98 ¥19.94

10.74%

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

$1.37 ₸617

$0.47 ¥3.14

191.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₸407

$0.27 ¥1.79

233.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 ₸1,412

$0.87 ¥5.82

259.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ₸1,851

$2.06 ¥13.74

99.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ₸750

$1.88 ¥12.56

-11.70%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 ₸404

$1.62 ¥10.82

-44.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 ₸929

$0.90 ¥6.03

128.89%

Eggs

$2.37 ₸1,069

$1.54 ¥10.26

53.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.64 ₸5,702

$12.90 ¥86.2

-2.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 ₸2,985

$3.13 ¥20.90

111.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.87 ₸4,904

$10.17 ¥68.0

6.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₸841

$1.79 ¥11.97

3.91%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 ₸1,070

$1.26 ¥8.44

88.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 ₸1,351

$1.48 ¥9.89

102.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.83 ₸1,276

$1.11 ¥7.41

154.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ₸346

$0.74 ¥4.91

4.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 ₸263

$0.92 ¥6.12

-36.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 ₸719

$0.57 ¥3.78

178.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 ₸447

$0.54 ¥3.62

83.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.54 ₸1,147

$3.15 ¥21.03

-19.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.04 ₸4,981

$10.46 ¥69.9

5.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 ₸548

$0.74 ¥4.96

63.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 ₸1,087

$1.58 ¥10.58

52.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₸113

$0.29 ¥1.95

-13.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.84 ₸9,854

$17.01 ¥114

28.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₸578

$1.42 ¥9.48

-9.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸290

$0.33 ¥2.19

93.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.74 ₸4,847

$6.59 ¥44.01

62.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.69 ₸313

$1.16 ¥7.78

-40.52%

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

$22.3K ₸10.1M

$19.4K ¥129.9K

14.60%

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

$29.3K ₸13.2M

$17.2K ¥114.6K

71.03%

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

$87.8 ₸39.6K

$44.99 ¥301

95.07%

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

$10.83 ₸4,886

$9.74 ¥65.1

11.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.40 ₸7,850

$11.84 ¥79.2

46.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 ₸31.4K

$41.53 ¥278

67.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.58 ₸12.0K

$14.17 ¥94.7

87.58%

Cinema Ticket

$6.68 ₸3,016

$5.81 ¥38.85

14.97%

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

$446 ₸201.2K

$333 ¥2,227

33.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₸5.4M

$17.1K ¥114.1K

-30.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.7 ₸42.3K

$44.37 ¥297

111.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.91 ₸21.2K

$29.89 ¥200

56.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$143 ₸64.4K

$72.9 ¥487

95.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₸60.2K

$72.6 ¥485

83.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$773 ₸349.0K

$273 ¥1,826

183.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 ₸224.4K

$190 ¥1,270

161.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 ₸627.4K

$599 ¥4,005

132.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$880 ₸397.0K

$353 ¥2,362

148.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,546 ₸1.1M

$3,029 ¥20.2K

-15.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,506 ₸679.8K

$2,058 ¥13.8K

-26.79%

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 Xining: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$497 36.4%

Xining

$190 26.7% 61.8% $307

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$251 18.4%

Xining

$198 27.8% 21.1% $53

Eating Out

Almaty

$205 15%

Xining

$84 11.8% 59.2% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$188 13.7%

Xining

$99 13.9% 47.3% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$116 8.5%

Xining

$67 9.4% 42.6% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$83 6.1%

Xining

$53 7.5% 36% $30

Getting Around

Almaty

$27 2%

Xining

$21 3% 22.3% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $773 in Almaty versus $273 in Xining. 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 Xining. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $251 vs $198 – making Xining the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇨🇳 Xining

🕒 Local time

10:16 10:16 AM

12:16 12:16 PM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

2,333,700

💱 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Almaty Xining 2,230 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Almaty
Xining

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 Xining: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 92%, 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 $1,085 in Xining. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Xining, 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 Xining. 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 $723 in Xining. That's a gap of about 92%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Xining, where all-in costs run around $723, than in Almaty at $1,387. In Xining it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Xining – 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 Xining. 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.