Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bishkek and Cali

For one person, living is cheaper in Bishkek: $980 a month against $1,060 in Cali, rent and utilities included – about $960 less a year. The total is higher in Cali despite lower rent and utilities.

48

Cost of Living Index in Bishkek
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Bishkek Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Cali
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Cali Living Index

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Bishkek

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan

$980

/mo nomad

Cali

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,060

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bishkek and in Cali

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $980 in Bishkek versus $1,060 in Cali.

Bishkek $980
Cali $1,060

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,503 in Bishkek versus $1,626 in Cali.

Bishkek $1,503
Cali $1,626

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,026 in Bishkek versus $2,192 in Cali.

Bishkek $2,026
Cali $2,192

Living in Bishkek costs roughly 8% less than in Cali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bishkek 27% lower, Cali 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.02 KGS 614

$7.32 COP 23.2K

-4.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.73 KGS 2,513

$37.35 COP 118.4K

-23.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.73 KGS 501

$8.32 COP 26.4K

-31.13%

Cappuccino

$2.40 KGS 210

$1.52 COP 4,832

57.89%

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

$0.75 KGS 66.0

$1.23 COP 3,885

-39.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 KGS 35.19

$0.86 COP 2,728

-53.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.41 KGS 123

$3.11 COP 9,872

-54.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 KGS 165

$3.80 COP 12.1K

-50.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 KGS 90.1

$1.54 COP 4,891

-33.12%

White Bread (500g)

$0.38 KGS 33.63

$1.96 COP 6,203

-80.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 KGS 144

$1.48 COP 4,701

10.81%

Eggs

$1.77 KGS 155

$2.91 COP 9,242

-39.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 KGS 674

$6.31 COP 20.0K

22.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.51 KGS 395

$6.85 COP 21.7K

-34.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.00 KGS 787

$10.22 COP 32.4K

-11.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.36 KGS 119

$3.45 COP 10.9K

-60.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 KGS 165

$1.40 COP 4,433

34.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 KGS 176

$1.79 COP 5,668

12.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 KGS 134

$1.65 COP 5,223

-7.27%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 KGS 50.8

$1.43 COP 4,539

-59.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 KGS 41.73

$1.55 COP 4,917

-69.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 KGS 61.2

$1.14 COP 3,613

-38.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 KGS 53.8

$0.94 COP 2,983

-35.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.02 KGS 177

$3.79 COP 12.0K

-46.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 KGS 803

$12.94 COP 41.0K

-29.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 KGS 124

$1.43 COP 4,539

-0.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 KGS 176

$2.55 COP 8,079

-21.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 KGS 19.13

$1.07 COP 3,387

-79.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.78 KGS 1,031

$30.29 COP 96.0K

-61.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 KGS 76.4

$0.78 COP 2,488

11.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 KGS 41.43

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.65 KGS 494

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 KGS 89.4

$1.34 COP 4,245

-23.88%

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

$30.0K KGS 2.6M

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

$33.6K KGS 2.9M

$35.4K COP 112.1M

-5.09%

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

$50.2 KGS 4,393

$110 COP 347.5K

-54.19%

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

$5.62 KGS 491

$12.96 COP 41.1K

-56.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.77 KGS 1,029

$30.06 COP 95.3K

-60.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.0 KGS 4,813

$28.81 COP 91.3K

90.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.87 KGS 1,301

Cinema Ticket

$5.68 KGS 497

$8.40 COP 26.6K

-32.38%

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

$222 KGS 19.4K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,839 KGS 685.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 KGS 4,843

$78.4 COP 248.5K

-29.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.81 KGS 3,745

$53.2 COP 168.8K

-19.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.6 KGS 7,841

$126 COP 398.3K

-28.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 KGS 8,030

$111 COP 351.4K

-17.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 KGS 53.5K

$655 COP 2.1M

-6.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$410 KGS 35.8K

$288 COP 914.6K

42.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 KGS 91.1K

$1,558 COP 4.9M

-33.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$708 KGS 62.0K

$498 COP 1.6M

42.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,803 KGS 157.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 KGS 107.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$514 KGS 45.0K

$585 COP 1.9M

-12.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.1

11.58

73.58%

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

Last update for Bishkek: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cali: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bishkek

$410 41.8%

Cali

$288 27.2% 29.6% $121

Groceries & Markets

Bishkek

$177 18%

Cali

$239 22.5% 35.3% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Bishkek

$126 12.8%

Cali

$166 15.6% 31.7% $40

Eating Out

Bishkek

$118 12%

Cali

$133 12.6% 13.4% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bishkek

$68 6.9%

Cali

$153 14.4% 126% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Bishkek

$66 6.8%

Cali

$46 4.3% 31.3% $21

Getting Around

Bishkek

$16 1.6%

Cali

$35 * 3.3% 122% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $612 in Bishkek and $655 in Cali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cali pays 14% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $29.00 in Bishkek vs $37.00 in Cali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $177 vs $239 per month, with Bishkek cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇬 Bishkek

🇨🇴 Cali

🕒 Local time

13:06 1:06 PM

02:06 2:06 AM

11 h behind Bishkek

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,012,500 Capital

2,568,609

💱 Currency

Kyrgyzstani Som KGS сом

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 KGS = 1.14 USD

100 KGS = 1.02 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to KGS – Kyrgyzstani Som Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstani Som (сом)

Kyrgyzstani Som exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 87.48 KGS (100 KGS = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 98.35 KGS (100 KGS = 1.02 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to KGS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bishkek Cali 14,100 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Bishkek
Cali

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 Cali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bishkek is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 8% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 14% lower in Cali. 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 $655 in Cali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bishkek – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $37.00 in Cali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Bishkek runs roughly 157% less than in Cali. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $980 in Bishkek versus $1,060 in Cali, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bishkek but tight or insufficient in Cali. The gap between the two cities makes Bishkek the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Bishkek and Cali 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 Bishkek gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Cali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.