Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karaganda and Dongguan

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongguan: $813 a month against $926 in Karaganda, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Karaganda
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Karaganda Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Dongguan
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Dongguan Living Index

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Karaganda

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$926

/mo nomad

Dongguan

🇨🇳 China

$813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Karaganda and in Dongguan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $926 in Karaganda versus $813 in Dongguan.

Karaganda $926
Dongguan $813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,492 in Karaganda versus $1,291 in Dongguan.

Karaganda $1,492
Dongguan $1,291

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,058 in Karaganda versus $1,768 in Dongguan.

Karaganda $2,058
Dongguan $1,768

Living in Karaganda is roughly 14% more expensive than in Dongguan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Karaganda 31% lower, Dongguan 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.85 ₸4,452

$2.57 ¥17.18

283.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.09 ₸15.9K

$22.04 ¥147

59.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.43 ₸2,453

$5.26 ¥35.15

3.23%

Cappuccino

$1.92 ₸869

$2.56 ¥17.13

-25.00%

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

$0.91 ₸413

$0.47 ¥3.15

93.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 ₸290

$0.29 ¥1.93

120.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.36 ₸617

$0.92 ¥6.18

47.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₸1,267

$2.21 ¥14.79

26.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 ₸605

$1.60 ¥10.69

-16.25%

White Bread (500g)

$0.49 ₸222

$1.56 ¥10.42

-68.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 ₸597

$1.03 ¥6.90

28.16%

Eggs

$1.79 ₸808

$1.66 ¥11.12

7.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.12 ₸5,929

$20.79 ¥139

-36.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 ₸2,442

$3.44 ¥22.99

56.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.19 ₸5,060

$14.23 ¥95.2

-21.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.49 ₸673

$2.27 ¥15.17

-34.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 ₸856

$1.57 ¥10.51

20.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 ₸1,299

$1.94 ¥12.95

47.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 ₸979

$1.42 ¥9.47

52.82%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₸301

$1.08 ¥7.19

-37.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₸267

$1.24 ¥8.32

-52.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 ₸467

$0.56 ¥3.72

83.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ₸310

$0.55 ¥3.67

25.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 ₸1,016

$4.49 ¥30.03

-49.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.43 ₸3,813

$11.89 ¥79.5

-29.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₸610

$0.86 ¥5.75

56.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 ₸957

$1.75 ¥11.67

21.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 ₸94.9

$0.35 ¥2.35

-40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.75 ₸7,119

$22.79 ¥152

-30.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.26 ₸568

$1.18 ¥7.91

6.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 ₸541

$0.39 ¥2.59

207.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 ₸1,496

$4.36 ¥29.14

-24.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.56 ₸254

$1.28 ¥8.53

-56.25%

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

$22.0K ₸10.0M

$19.5K ¥130.7K

12.80%

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

$31.9K ₸14.4M

$18.6K ¥124.5K

71.51%

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

$72.2 ₸32.7K

$63.8 ¥426

13.30%

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

$10.01 ₸4,523

$9.24 ¥61.8

8.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.86 ₸5,360

$13.08 ¥87.5

-9.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.00 ₸20.8K

$51.1 ¥341

-9.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.82 ₸8,505

$16.01 ¥107

17.55%

Cinema Ticket

$5.34 ₸2,416

$7.67 ¥51.3

-30.38%

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

$135 ₸60.8K

$533 ¥3,565

-74.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.2K ¥161.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 ₸26.6K

$46.76 ¥313

25.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.8 ₸26.1K

$40.41 ¥270

42.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 ₸35.8K

$73.3 ¥490

7.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.6 ₸38.7K

$39.10 ¥261

118.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$394 ₸178.2K

$372 ¥2,490

5.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 ₸123.2K

$218 ¥1,459

24.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$738 ₸333.5K

$662 ¥4,426

11.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$536 ₸242.3K

$431 ¥2,882

24.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,053 ₸476.1K

$5,714 ¥38.2K

-81.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$711 ₸321.5K

$3,066 ¥20.5K

-76.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$569 ₸257.3K

$858 ¥5,734

-33.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.25

3.35

474.63%

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

Last update for Karaganda: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dongguan: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Karaganda

$273 29.5%

Dongguan

$218 26.8% 20% $54

Groceries & Markets

Karaganda

$215 23.2%

Dongguan

$246 30.3% 14.5% $31

Eating Out

Karaganda

$137 14.8%

Dongguan

$79 9.7% 42.1% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Karaganda

$127 13.7%

Dongguan

$90 11% 29.1% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karaganda

$94 10.2%

Dongguan

$86 10.6% 8.5% $8

Sport & Entertainment

Karaganda

$57 6.1%

Dongguan

$66 8.2% 17.1% $9.7

Getting Around

Karaganda

$24 2.6%

Dongguan

$27 3.4% 14.6% $3.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $394 in Karaganda and $372 in Dongguan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dongguan pays 51% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Karaganda vs $22.00 in Dongguan. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $246, with Karaganda cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇿 Karaganda

🇨🇳 Dongguan

🕒 Local time

10:45 10:45 AM

12:45 12:45 PM

2 h ahead of Karaganda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

520,486

8,254,100

💱 Currency

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to KZT – Kazakhstani Tenge Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇿 Kazakhstani Tenge (₸)

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KZT in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Karaganda Dongguan 4,610 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Karaganda
Dongguan

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

Karaganda vs Dongguan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dongguan is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and clothing. The 14% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Dongguan. 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: $394 in Karaganda versus $372 in Dongguan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dongguan runs roughly 45% less than in Karaganda. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $135 in Karaganda versus $533 in Dongguan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Dongguan gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find Dongguan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Karaganda. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.