Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Almaty and Yantai

For one person, living is cheaper in Yantai: $629 a month against $1,372 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Yantai
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Yantai Living Index

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Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,372

/mo nomad

Yantai

🇨🇳 China

$629

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Almaty and in Yantai

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

A single person spends $1,372 per month in Almaty vs $629 in Yantai, rent included.

Almaty $1,372
Yantai $629

A couple spends around $2,142 per month in Almaty vs $926 in Yantai, rent included.

Almaty $2,142
Yantai $926

A family of three spends $2,913 per month in Almaty vs $1,223 in Yantai, rent included.

Almaty $2,913
Yantai $1,223

Almaty costs about 118% more than Yantai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Almaty sits 2% above the global median, while Yantai is 53% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.16 ₸5,949

$2.92 ¥19.55

350.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.86 ₸20.3K

$18.14 ¥121

147.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.90 ₸4,022

$4.58 ¥30.65

94.32%

Cappuccino

$3.25 ₸1,469

$2.81 ¥18.78

15.66%

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

$1.41 ₸639

$0.54 ¥3.58

161.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 ₸399

$0.32 ¥2.15

175.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₸1,513

$1.05 ¥7.01

219.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 ₸1,827

$2.60 ¥17.39

55.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 ₸762

$1.96 ¥13.11

-13.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 ₸390

$1.35 ¥9.01

-36.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 ₸917

$0.83 ¥5.58

144.58%

Eggs

$2.43 ₸1,100

$1.35 ¥9.02

80.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.46 ₸5,632

$16.32 ¥109

-23.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.71 ₸3,033

$3.28 ¥21.94

104.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.85 ₸4,905

$6.89 ¥46.04

57.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 ₸813

$1.37 ¥9.19

31.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 ₸1,018

$0.89 ¥5.98

152.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.91 ₸1,314

$1.07 ¥7.16

171.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.75 ₸1,243

$0.74 ¥4.92

271.62%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 ₸337

$0.67 ¥4.49

11.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.55 ₸248

$0.78 ¥5.24

-29.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 ₸732

$0.58 ¥3.91

179.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 ₸474

$0.63 ¥4.19

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.58 ₸1,167

$3.65 ¥24.39

-29.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 ₸5,042

$11.68 ¥78.1

-4.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 ₸547

$0.78 ¥5.25

55.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 ₸1,104

$1.03 ¥6.88

136.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₸117

$0.21 ¥1.40

23.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.03 ₸9,957

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₸611

$1.36 ¥9.11

-0.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₸288

$0.29 ¥1.92

120.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.16 ₸5,044

$6.48 ¥43.30

72.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.72 ₸324

$1.23 ¥8.20

-41.46%

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

$22.5K ₸10.2M

$19.3K ¥129.0K

16.73%

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

$30.3K ₸13.7M

$16.4K ¥109.8K

84.40%

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

$91.8 ₸41.5K

$44.64 ¥298

105.67%

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

$10.66 ₸4,820

$6.79 ¥45.37

57.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.86 ₸8,072

$6.09 ¥40.75

193.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.3 ₸31.8K

$29.60 ¥198

137.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.60 ₸12.5K

$7.43 ¥49.69

271.47%

Cinema Ticket

$6.78 ₸3,064

$5.44 ¥36.37

24.63%

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

$449 ₸202.9K

$363 ¥2,426

23.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K ₸5.5M

$16.6K ¥111.2K

-27.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 ₸40.7K

$17.97 ¥120

400.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.02 ₸21.3K

$22.78 ¥152

106.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$142 ₸64.1K

$93.7 ¥626

51.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₸60.0K

$90.2 ¥603

47.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 ₸363.7K

$223 ¥1,490

260.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₸225.9K

$151 ¥1,010

230.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,429 ₸645.9K

$353 ¥2,358

305.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$904 ₸408.8K

$147 ¥982

515.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,503 ₸1.1M

$3,056 ¥20.4K

-18.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,559 ₸704.7K

$5,096 ¥34.1K

-69.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$870 ₸393.3K

$1,063 ¥7,107

-18.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

3.37

512.76%

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

Last update for Almaty: October 10, 2026

Last update for Yantai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Almaty

$500 36.4%

Yantai

$151 24% 69.8% $349

Groceries & Markets

Almaty

$250 18.3%

Yantai

$191 30.3% 23.8% $59

Eating Out

Almaty

$205 14.9%

Yantai

$85 13.5% 58.7% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Almaty

$185 13.5%

Yantai

$101 16.1% 45.4% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Almaty

$120 8.8%

Yantai

$58 9.1% 52.2% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Almaty

$84 6.1%

Yantai

$40 6.4% 51.7% $43

Getting Around

Almaty

$28 2%

Yantai

$3.6 * 0.6% 86.8% $24

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Almaty versus $223 in Yantai. 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 22% higher in Yantai, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Almaty versus $18.00 in Yantai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $250 vs $191 – making Yantai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Almaty

🇨🇳 Yantai

🕒 Local time

21:57 9:57 PM

23:57 11:57 PM

2 h ahead of Almaty

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,400

1,871,000

💱 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KZT in detail →

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Between locations

Almaty Yantai 3,780 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

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 Yantai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 118%, 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 $944 in Yantai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Yantai, 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 $1,372 in Almaty and $629 in Yantai. That's a gap of about 118%.

Kindergarten costs $449 per month in Almaty and $363 in Yantai. 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 Yantai, where all-in costs run around $629, than in Almaty at $1,372. In Yantai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Yantai – 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 Yantai. 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.