Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bandar Seri Begawan and Almaty

For one person, living is cheaper in Bandar Seri Begawan: $1,193 a month against $1,387 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. The total is higher in Almaty despite lower rent and utilities.

57

Cost of Living Index in Bandar Seri Begawan
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Bandar Seri Begawan Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index

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Bandar Seri Begawan

🇧🇳 Brunei

$1,193

/mo nomad

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bandar Seri Begawan and in Almaty

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

A single person spends $1,193 per month in Bandar Seri Begawan vs $1,387 in Almaty, rent included.

Bandar Seri Begawan $1,193
Almaty $1,387

A couple spends around $1,725 per month in Bandar Seri Begawan vs $2,135 in Almaty, rent included.

Bandar Seri Begawan $1,725
Almaty $2,135

A family of three spends $2,257 per month in Bandar Seri Begawan vs $2,883 in Almaty, rent included.

Bandar Seri Begawan $2,257
Almaty $2,883

Bandar Seri Begawan is about 14% cheaper than Almaty, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bandar Seri Begawan sits 11% below the global median, while Almaty is 3% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.84 BND 4.91

$13.31 ₸6,034

-71.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.17 BND 34.78

$43.37 ₸19.7K

-37.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.13 BND 7.84

$8.80 ₸3,988

-30.34%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 BND 2.44

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 BND 2.96

Cappuccino

$3.88 BND 4.97

$3.30 ₸1,497

17.58%

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

$0.95 BND 1.22

$1.37 ₸620

-30.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 BND 0.68

$0.90 ₸409

-41.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 ₸1,419

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ₸1,860

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 BND 2.36

$1.66 ₸754

10.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 BND 2.18

$0.90 ₸406

88.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.24 BND 1.58

$2.06 ₸933

-39.81%

Eggs

$2.01 BND 2.58

$2.37 ₸1,074

-15.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.26 BND 11.85

$12.64 ₸5,730

-26.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 BND 5.63

$6.62 ₸3,000

-33.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.63 BND 13.61

$10.87 ₸4,928

-2.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 BND 4.09

$1.86 ₸845

71.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 BND 2.79

$2.37 ₸1,075

-8.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.86 BND 3.66

$2.99 ₸1,358

-4.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 BND 3.31

$2.83 ₸1,282

-8.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 BND 2.24

$0.77 ₸347

127.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 BND 2.67

$0.58 ₸264

258.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.61 BND 4.62

$1.59 ₸723

127.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 BND 1.19

$0.99 ₸449

-6.06%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$23.07 BND 29.54

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.39 BND 4.35

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.45 BND 19.78

$2.54 ₸1,153

508.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.04 ₸5,005

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 ₸550

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 ₸1,093

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 BND 1.05

$0.25 ₸113

228.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$0.82 BND 1.05

$21.84 ₸9,901

-96.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.82 BND 4.89

$1.28 ₸581

198.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.42 BND 4.38

$0.64 ₸291

434.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.89 BND 15.22

$10.74 ₸4,870

10.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.39 BND 0.50

$0.69 ₸314

-43.48%

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

$43.7K BND 56.0K

$22.3K ₸10.1M

96.39%

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

$36.2K BND 46.3K

$29.3K ₸13.3M

23.32%

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

$60.7 BND 77.7

$87.8 ₸39.8K

-30.89%

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

$21.58 BND 27.63

$10.83 ₸4,909

99.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.4 BND 83.8

$17.40 ₸7,887

275.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.10 BND 57.7

$69.7 ₸31.6K

-35.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.96 BND 8.91

$26.58 ₸12.1K

-73.81%

Cinema Ticket

$5.34 BND 6.84

$6.68 ₸3,031

-20.06%

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

$214 BND 273

$446 ₸202.2K

-52.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,857 BND 12.6K

$11.9K ₸5.4M

-17.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.2 BND 96.3

$93.7 ₸42.5K

-19.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$92.5 BND 118

$46.91 ₸21.3K

97.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 BND 133

$143 ₸64.7K

-27.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 BND 93.8

$133 ₸60.5K

-45.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$734 BND 939

$773 ₸350.6K

-5.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$469 BND 601

$497 ₸225.5K

-5.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 BND 1,440

$1,390 ₸630.4K

-19.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$692 BND 885

$880 ₸398.9K

-21.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,106 BND 3,977

$2,546 ₸1.2M

22.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,298 BND 2,942

$1,506 ₸683.0K

52.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,755 BND 2,247

$834 ₸377.9K

110.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.88

20.65

-81.21%

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

Last update for Bandar Seri Begawan: October 5, 2026

Last update for Almaty: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bandar Seri Begawan

$469 40%

Almaty

$497 36.4% 6% $28

Groceries & Markets

Bandar Seri Begawan

$218 18.6%

Almaty

$251 18.4% 15% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Bandar Seri Begawan

$155 13.2%

Almaty

$188 13.7% 20.9% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bandar Seri Begawan

$148 12.6%

Almaty

$116 8.5% 21.4% $32

Eating Out

Bandar Seri Begawan

$102 8.7%

Almaty

$205 15% 102% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Bandar Seri Begawan

$56 4.8%

Almaty

$83 6.1% 48.9% $27

Getting Around

Bandar Seri Begawan

$25 2.1%

Almaty

$27 2% 9.3% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $734 in Bandar Seri Begawan versus $773 in Almaty. 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 111% higher in Bandar Seri Begawan, 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 $27.00 in Bandar Seri Begawan versus $43.00 in Almaty. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $218 vs $251 – making Bandar Seri Begawan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇳 Bandar Seri Begawan

🇰🇿 Almaty

🕒 Local time

16:52 4:52 PM

14:52 2:52 PM

2 h behind Bandar Seri Begawan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,000 Capital

1,475,400

💱 Currency

Brunei Dollar BND $

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 BND = 0.781 USD

1 BND = 0.696 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to BND – Brunei Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇳 Brunei Dollar ($)

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 BND (1 BND = 0.696 EUR).

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).

USD to BND in detail →

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Bandar Seri Begawan Almaty 5,660 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Bandar Seri Begawan
Almaty

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

Bandar Seri Begawan vs Almaty: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 16%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,789 per month in Bandar Seri Begawan and $2,080 in Almaty. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bandar Seri Begawan, 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 $27.00 in Bandar Seri Begawan and $43.00 in Almaty. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,193 in Bandar Seri Begawan and $1,387 in Almaty. That's a gap of about 16%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Bandar Seri Begawan, where all-in costs run around $1,193, than in Almaty at $1,387. In Bandar Seri Begawan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Bandar Seri Begawan – 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 Bandar Seri Begawan. 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.