Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bishkek and Brest

For one person, living is cheaper in Brest: $845 a month against $980 in Bishkek, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bishkek outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

48

Cost of Living Index in Bishkek
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Bishkek Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Brest
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Brest Living Index

Jump to prices

Bishkek

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan

$980

/mo nomad

Brest

🇧🇾 Belarus

$845

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bishkek and in Brest

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $980 in Bishkek versus $845 in Brest.

Bishkek $980
Brest $845

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,503 in Bishkek versus $1,344 in Brest.

Bishkek $1,503
Brest $1,344

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,026 in Bishkek versus $1,843 in Brest.

Bishkek $2,026
Brest $1,843

Living in Bishkek is roughly 16% more expensive than in Brest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bishkek 27% lower, Brest 37% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.02 KGS 614

$13.09 BYN 39.27

-46.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.73 KGS 2,513

$37.95 BYN 114

-24.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.73 KGS 501

$6.49 BYN 19.46

-11.71%

Cappuccino

$2.40 KGS 210

$2.13 BYN 6.39

12.68%

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

$0.75 KGS 66.0

$0.94 BYN 2.82

-20.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 KGS 35.19

$0.89 BYN 2.66

-55.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.41 KGS 123

$3.22 BYN 9.66

-56.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 KGS 165

$4.02 BYN 12.05

-52.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 KGS 90.1

$1.13 BYN 3.38

-8.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.38 KGS 33.63

$1.01 BYN 3.02

-62.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 KGS 144

$0.98 BYN 2.94

67.35%

Eggs

$1.77 KGS 155

$1.54 BYN 4.62

14.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 KGS 674

$6.79 BYN 20.37

13.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.51 KGS 395

$3.55 BYN 10.65

27.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.00 KGS 787

$3.42 BYN 10.25

163.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.36 KGS 119

$1.94 BYN 5.82

-29.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 KGS 165

$2.41 BYN 7.24

-21.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 KGS 176

$2.13 BYN 6.40

-5.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 KGS 134

$2.45 BYN 7.34

-37.55%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 KGS 50.8

$0.80 BYN 2.39

-27.50%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 KGS 41.73

$1.61 BYN 4.83

-70.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 KGS 61.2

$1.95 BYN 5.85

-64.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 KGS 53.8

$1.35 BYN 4.04

-54.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.02 KGS 177

$2.57 BYN 7.72

-21.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 KGS 803

$7.73 BYN 23.20

18.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 KGS 124

$1.19 BYN 3.57

19.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 KGS 176

$1.94 BYN 5.81

3.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 KGS 19.13

$0.32 BYN 0.97

-31.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.78 KGS 1,031

$16.20 BYN 48.60

-27.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 KGS 76.4

$0.76 BYN 2.28

14.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 KGS 41.43

$0.57 BYN 1.72

-17.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.65 KGS 494

$17.00 BYN 51.0

-66.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 KGS 89.4

$0.86 BYN 2.58

18.60%

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

$30.0K KGS 2.6M

$18.9K BYN 56.8K

58.34%

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

$33.6K KGS 2.9M

$27.7K BYN 83.0K

21.36%

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

$50.2 KGS 4,393

$64.3 BYN 193

-21.94%

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

$5.62 KGS 491

$11.35 BYN 34.04

-50.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.77 KGS 1,029

$22.41 BYN 67.2

-47.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.0 KGS 4,813

$33.33 BYN 100.0

65.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.87 KGS 1,301

$7.98 BYN 23.93

86.34%

Cinema Ticket

$5.68 KGS 497

$5.19 BYN 15.58

9.44%

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

$222 KGS 19.4K

$336 BYN 1,008

-34.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,839 KGS 685.7K

$6,135 BYN 18.4K

27.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 KGS 4,843

$51.5 BYN 154

7.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.81 KGS 3,745

$39.19 BYN 118

9.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.6 KGS 7,841

$132 BYN 397

-32.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 KGS 8,030

$84.9 BYN 255

8.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 KGS 53.5K

$357 BYN 1,071

71.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$410 KGS 35.8K

$183 BYN 549

123.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 KGS 91.1K

$509 BYN 1,528

104.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$708 KGS 62.0K

$320 BYN 959

121.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,803 KGS 157.7K

$2,387 BYN 7,161

-24.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 KGS 107.0K

$2,788 BYN 8,363

-56.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$514 KGS 45.0K

$520 BYN 1,560

-1.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.1

82.73%

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

Last update for Bishkek: October 12, 2026

Last update for Brest: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bishkek

$410 41.8%

Brest

$183 21.7% 55.3% $227

Groceries & Markets

Bishkek

$177 18%

Brest

$180 21.2% 1.7% $3

Clothing & Footwear

Bishkek

$126 12.8%

Brest

$139 16.4% 10.2% $13

Eating Out

Bishkek

$118 12%

Brest

$181 21.4% 54.1% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bishkek

$68 6.9%

Brest

$98 11.6% 45.1% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Bishkek

$66 6.8%

Brest

$44 5.2% 34.2% $23

Getting Around

Bishkek

$16 1.6%

Brest

$21 2.5% 32.8% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $612 in Bishkek and $357 in Brest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brest pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $29.00 in Bishkek vs $38.00 in Brest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $177 vs $180 per month, with Bishkek cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇬 Bishkek

🇧🇾 Brest

🕒 Local time

14:49 2:49 PM

11:49 11:49 AM

3 h behind Bishkek

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,012,500 Capital

340,521

💱 Currency

Kyrgyzstani Som KGS сом

Belarusian Ruble BYN Br

📈 Exchange rate

100 KGS = 1.14 USD

100 KGS = 1.02 EUR

1 BYN = 0.333 USD

1 BYN = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BYN, USD, EUR to KGS – Kyrgyzstani Som Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstani Som (сом)

Kyrgyzstani Som exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 87.48 KGS (100 KGS = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 98.35 KGS (100 KGS = 1.02 EUR).

Belarusian Ruble exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3 BYN (1 BYN = 0.333 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 BYN (1 BYN = 0.297 EUR).

USD to KGS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bishkek Brest 3,870 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Bishkek
Brest

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

Bishkek vs Brest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brest is cheaper overall, especially in leisure. The 16% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1% lower in Brest. 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: $612 in Bishkek versus $357 in Brest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $222 in Bishkek versus $336 in Brest. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Bishkek pay roughly 2% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $845 in Brest versus $980 in Bishkek, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Brest but tight or insufficient in Bishkek. The gap between the two cities makes Brest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Brest is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bishkek, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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

Expats usually find Brest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Bishkek. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.