Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bishkek and Gramado

For one person, living is cheaper in Gramado: $909 a month against $989 in Bishkek, rent and utilities included – about $960 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bishkek outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Bishkek
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
$989
/mo nomad
Gramado
🇧🇷 Brazil
$909
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bishkek and in Gramado

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $989 in Bishkek versus $909 in Gramado.

  • Bishkek $989
  • Gramado $909

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,516 in Bishkek versus $1,432 in Gramado.

  • Bishkek $1,516
  • Gramado $1,432

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,042 in Bishkek versus $1,954 in Gramado.

  • Bishkek $2,042
  • Gramado $1,954

Living in Bishkek is roughly 9% more expensive than in Gramado, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bishkek 27% lower, Gramado 33% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$7.01 KGS 613
$7.58 R$38.43
-7.52%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$28.94 KGS 2,531
$24.80 R$126
16.69%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.00 KGS 525
$5.78 R$29.30
3.81%
Cappuccino
$2.49 KGS 218
$1.68 R$8.51
48.21%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.71 KGS 62.5
$1.20 R$6.08
-40.83%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.37 KGS 32.76
$0.75 R$3.83
-50.67%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.33 KGS 116
$2.36 R$11.97
-43.64%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.96 KGS 172
$1.93 R$9.78
1.55%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.99 KGS 86.2
$1.02 R$5.15
-2.94%
White Bread (500g)
$0.39 KGS 33.95
$1.39 R$7.05
-71.94%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.71 KGS 149
$1.07 R$5.41
59.81%
Eggs
$1.75 KGS 153
$2.34 R$11.87
-25.21%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.82 KGS 684
$10.04 R$50.9
-22.11%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.68 KGS 410
$4.37 R$22.16
7.09%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$8.86 KGS 775
$5.83 R$29.58
51.97%
Apples (1kg)
$1.37 KGS 120
$2.41 R$12.24
-43.15%
Banana (1kg)
$1.83 KGS 160
$1.42 R$7.19
28.87%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.01 KGS 176
$1.40 R$7.08
43.57%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.57 KGS 137
$1.57 R$7.97
-
Potato (1kg)
$0.62 KGS 54.0
$0.97 R$4.93
-36.08%
Onion (1kg)
$0.51 KGS 44.85
$1.12 R$5.69
-54.46%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.70 KGS 61.5
$0.64 R$3.23
9.37%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.62 KGS 53.9
$0.70 R$3.57
-11.43%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.03 KGS 177
$2.41 R$12.22
-15.77%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.13 KGS 799
$6.01 R$30.49
51.91%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.38 KGS 120
$1.15 R$5.85
20.00%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.95 KGS 171
$1.90 R$9.64
2.63%
🚌 Getting Around
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.24 KGS 21.02
$1.18 R$5.99
-79.66%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$11.77 KGS 1,030
$68.9 R$349
-82.93%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.89 KGS 77.9
$1.30 R$6.59
-31.54%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.47 KGS 41.16
$0.62 R$3.12
-24.19%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.58 KGS 488
$5.87 R$29.76
-4.94%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.96 KGS 83.8
$1.22 R$6.18
-21.31%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$29.7K KGS 2.6M
$19.8K R$100.4K
49.98%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.4K KGS 2.9M
$28.3K R$143.5K
17.99%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$50.5 KGS 4,417
$61.7 R$313
-18.20%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$5.77 KGS 505
$12.52 R$63.5
-53.91%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$11.99 KGS 1,049
$21.50 R$109
-44.23%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$55.3 KGS 4,839
$26.10 R$132
111.95%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$14.53 KGS 1,271
$27.65 R$140
-47.45%
Cinema Ticket
$5.81 KGS 508
$6.40 R$32.43
-9.22%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$218 KGS 19.1K
$297 R$1,505
-26.64%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,840 KGS 685.9K
$3,275 R$16.6K
139.38%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$56.2 KGS 4,917
$50.7 R$257
10.82%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$43.43 KGS 3,799
$33.73 R$171
28.76%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$90.5 KGS 7,916
$70.3 R$356
28.77%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.8 KGS 7,855
$49.04 R$249
83.10%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$595 KGS 52.0K
$498 R$2,523
19.55%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$416 KGS 36.4K
$305 R$1,544
36.64%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,016 KGS 88.9K
$909 R$4,609
11.79%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$718 KGS 62.8K
$595 R$3,019
20.59%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,748 KGS 152.9K
$2,516 R$12.8K
-30.54%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,225 KGS 107.1K
$1,554 R$7,878
-21.19%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Bishkek
Gramado
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$497 KGS 43.5K
$596 R$3,020
-16.50%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
20.1
10
101.00%

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

Last update for Bishkek: October 18, 2026

Last update for Gramado: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Bishkek
$416
Gramado
$305 26.8% $112
Groceries & Markets
Bishkek
$177
Gramado
$179 1.2% $2.1
Clothing & Footwear
Bishkek
$126
Gramado
$92 27.2% $34
Eating Out
Bishkek
$119
Gramado
$122 2.3% $2.8
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bishkek
$68
Gramado
$96 40.3% $27
Sport & Entertainment
Bishkek
$67
Gramado
$39 41.9% $28
Getting Around
Bishkek
$16
Gramado
$78 389% $62

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $595 in Bishkek and $498 in Gramado. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gramado pays 20% 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 $25.00 in Gramado. Groceries flip the comparison at $177 vs $179, with Bishkek cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇰🇬 Bishkek
🇧🇷 Gramado
🕒 Local time
00:00 12:00 AM
15:00 3:00 PM
9 h behind Bishkek
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,012,500 Capital
40,134
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to KGS – Kyrgyzstani Som Converter

Kyrgyzstani Som exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 87.48 KGS (100 KGS = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 98.35 KGS (100 KGS = 1.02 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Bishkek Gramado 14,990 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Bishkek
  • Gramado

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 Gramado: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gramado cheaper than Bishkek?
Gramado is cheaper overall, especially in clothing and leisure. The 9% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Bishkek or Gramado?
On paper, salaries run 20% lower in Gramado. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
What is the rent difference between Bishkek and Gramado?
Rent for a central apartment: $595 in Bishkek versus $498 in Gramado. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $218 in Bishkek versus $297 in Gramado. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
How do food prices compare in Bishkek and in Gramado?
Shoppers in Bishkek pay roughly 1% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Bishkek or in Gramado?
At $909 in Gramado versus $989 in Bishkek, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gramado but tight or insufficient in Bishkek. The gap between the two cities makes Gramado the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Bishkek or Gramado more family-friendly?
For families, Gramado 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.
Which city is safer, Bishkek or Gramado?
Safety-wise, Bishkek and Gramado are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Gramado gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Bishkek. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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