Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashgabat and Geneva

For one person, living is cheaper in Ashgabat: $3,400 a month against $4,079 in Geneva, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Geneva outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

163

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
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Ashgabat Living Index
198

Cost of Living Index in Geneva
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Geneva Living Index

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Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,400

/mo nomad

Geneva

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$4,079

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ashgabat and in Geneva

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ashgabat and in Geneva actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,400 in Ashgabat versus $4,079 in Geneva.

Ashgabat $3,400
Geneva $4,079

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,109 in Ashgabat versus $6,308 in Geneva.

Ashgabat $5,109
Geneva $6,308

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,818 in Ashgabat versus $8,538 in Geneva.

Ashgabat $6,818
Geneva $8,538

Living in Ashgabat costs roughly 17% less than in Geneva, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ashgabat 150% above, Geneva 200% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.91 TMT 104

$30.31 CHF 25.12

1.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.1 TMT 292

$129 CHF 107

-32.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.81 TMT 42.92

$19.47 CHF 16.14

-34.21%

Cappuccino

$6.98 TMT 23.40

$6.40 CHF 5.30

9.06%

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

$1.56 TMT 5.21

$4.66 CHF 3.86

-66.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 TMT 2.75

$4.13 CHF 3.43

-80.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.60 TMT 18.76

$9.82 CHF 8.14

-42.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.68 TMT 45.84

$9.87 CHF 8.18

38.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.49 TMT 15.03

$2.35 CHF 1.95

91.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.01 TMT 6.72

$3.26 CHF 2.70

-38.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.77 TMT 19.34

$3.39 CHF 2.81

70.21%

Eggs

$6.04 TMT 20.23

$8.18 CHF 6.78

-26.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$36.95 TMT 124

$25.05 CHF 20.76

47.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.67 TMT 65.9

$29.22 CHF 24.22

-32.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.60 TMT 79.1

$42.51 CHF 35.24

-44.48%

Apples (1kg)

$5.10 TMT 17.10

$3.53 CHF 2.93

44.48%

Banana (1kg)

$8.63 TMT 28.91

$1.63 CHF 1.35

429.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.32 TMT 24.53

$2.85 CHF 2.36

156.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.67 TMT 12.30

$4.90 CHF 4.06

-25.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 TMT 7.75

$1.64 CHF 1.36

40.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 TMT 4.65

$2.29 CHF 1.90

-39.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.63 TMT 8.81

$2.19 CHF 1.81

20.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 TMT 3.62

$1.66 CHF 1.38

-34.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.92 TMT 86.8

$10.97 CHF 9.10

136.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$41.19 TMT 138

$12.16 CHF 10.08

238.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.08 TMT 17.01

$3.21 CHF 2.66

58.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 TMT 9.51

$3.30 CHF 2.74

-13.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.15 TMT 0.49

$3.55 CHF 2.94

-95.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.81 TMT 32.85

$85.8 CHF 71.1

-88.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.80 TMT 9.39

$7.61 CHF 6.31

-63.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 TMT 2.92

$3.76 CHF 3.11

-76.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.75 TMT 29.33

$64.2 CHF 53.2

-86.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.41 TMT 1.37

$2.35 CHF 1.95

-82.55%

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

$44.6K TMT 149.3K

$39.5K CHF 32.8K

12.74%

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

$57.0K TMT 190.8K

$38.8K CHF 32.2K

46.62%

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

$576 TMT 1,930

$280 CHF 232

105.92%

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

$58.3 TMT 195

$37.96 CHF 31.46

53.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$103 TMT 347

$57.6 CHF 47.70

79.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$197 TMT 659

$77.0 CHF 63.8

155.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$43.87 TMT 147

$43.34 CHF 35.92

1.22%

Cinema Ticket

$8.80 TMT 29.47

$23.96 CHF 19.86

-63.27%

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

$23.22 TMT 77.8

$2,484 CHF 2,059

-99.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K TMT 84.5K

$35.2K CHF 29.2K

-28.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.8 TMT 190

$133 CHF 110

-57.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$116 TMT 390

$79.1 CHF 65.6

47.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$371 TMT 1,242

$169 CHF 140

119.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$194 TMT 650

$188 CHF 156

3.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,396 TMT 4,675

$2,825 CHF 2,342

-50.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,000 TMT 3,349

$2,115 CHF 1,753

-52.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,244 TMT 7,519

$5,088 CHF 4,217

-55.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,931 TMT 6,470

$3,963 CHF 3,284

-51.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,614 TMT 12.1K

$22.5K CHF 18.6K

-83.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,901 TMT 9,717

$16.3K CHF 13.5K

-82.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$748 TMT 2,507

$7,271 CHF 6,027

-89.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.5

1.98

379.80%

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

Last update for Ashgabat: October 26, 2026

Last update for Geneva: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ashgabat

$1,000 29.4%

Geneva

$2.1K 51.9% 112% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashgabat

$738 21.7%

Geneva

$375 9.2% 49.1% $363

Groceries & Markets

Ashgabat

$664 19.5%

Geneva

$600 14.7% 9.7% $64

Eating Out

Ashgabat

$434 12.8%

Geneva

$482 11.8% 10.9% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Ashgabat

$332 9.8%

Geneva

$256 6.3% 22.9% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Ashgabat

$214 6.3%

Geneva

$125 3.1% 41.7% $89

Getting Around

Ashgabat

$18 0.5%

Geneva

$126 3.1% 620% $109

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,396 in Ashgabat and $2,825 in Geneva. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Geneva pays about 9.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $87 in Ashgabat vs $129 in Geneva. Groceries flip the comparison at $664 vs $600, with Geneva cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🇨🇭 Geneva

🕒 Local time

20:46 8:46 PM

16:46 4:46 PM

4 h behind Ashgabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

909,000 Capital

191,557

💱 Currency

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 TMT = 0.299 USD

1 TMT = 0.268 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to TMT – Turkmenistani Manat Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇲 Turkmenistani Manat (m)

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.35 TMT (1 TMT = 0.299 USD). 1 EUR = 3.73 TMT (1 TMT = 0.268 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.829 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.923 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to TMT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ashgabat Geneva 4,330 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ashgabat
Geneva

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

Ashgabat vs Geneva: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ashgabat and Geneva differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($3,400 vs $4,079 including rent). Ashgabat is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 90% lower in Ashgabat. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,396 in Ashgabat versus $2,825 in Geneva. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $23 in Ashgabat versus $2,484 in Geneva. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Geneva pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Ashgabat is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Ashgabat and Geneva are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Ashgabat wins on affordability, Geneva on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.