Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mandalgovi and Almaty

For one person, living is cheaper in Mandalgovi: $634 a month against $1,387 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Mandalgovi
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Mandalgovi Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index

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Mandalgovi

🇲🇳 Mongolia

$634

/mo nomad

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mandalgovi 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 Mandalgovi and in Almaty actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $634 per month in Mandalgovi vs $1,387 in Almaty, rent included.

Mandalgovi $634
Almaty $1,387

A couple spends around $1,056 per month in Mandalgovi vs $2,135 in Almaty, rent included.

Mandalgovi $1,056
Almaty $2,135

A family of three spends $1,477 per month in Mandalgovi vs $2,883 in Almaty, rent included.

Mandalgovi $1,477
Almaty $2,883

Mandalgovi is about 54% cheaper than Almaty, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mandalgovi sits 53% below the global median, while Almaty is 3% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.72 MNT 20.5K

$13.31 ₸5,991

-57.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.77 MNT 114.2K

$43.37 ₸19.5K

-26.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 MNT 20.5K

$8.80 ₸3,959

-35.23%

Cappuccino

$2.49 MNT 8,944

$3.30 ₸1,486

-24.55%

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

$0.88 MNT 3,168

$1.37 ₸616

-35.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 MNT 2,217

$0.90 ₸406

-31.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 MNT 8,362

$3.13 ₸1,409

-25.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.35 MNT 12.0K

$4.10 ₸1,847

-18.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MNT 5,236

$1.66 ₸749

-12.05%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 MNT 3,507

$0.90 ₸403

8.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 MNT 7,518

$2.06 ₸927

1.46%

Eggs

$2.05 MNT 7,379

$2.37 ₸1,067

-13.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.58 MNT 45.2K

$12.64 ₸5,689

-0.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.82 MNT 17.3K

$6.62 ₸2,978

-27.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.38 MNT 26.5K

$10.87 ₸4,893

-32.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 MNT 11.3K

$1.86 ₸839

69.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 MNT 8,555

$2.37 ₸1,067

0.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.82 MNT 13.7K

$2.99 ₸1,348

27.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.04 MNT 10.9K

$2.83 ₸1,273

7.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 MNT 2,684

$0.77 ₸345

-2.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.08 MNT 3,878

$0.58 ₸262

86.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.74 MNT 6,269

$1.59 ₸718

9.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 MNT 2,767

$0.99 ₸446

-22.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.69 MNT 6,081

$2.54 ₸1,145

-33.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 MNT 36.9K

$11.04 ₸4,969

-6.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 MNT 5,403

$1.21 ₸546

23.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 MNT 6,470

$2.41 ₸1,085

-25.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₸113

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.84 ₸9,831

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.52 MNT 1,863

$1.28 ₸577

-59.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.55 MNT 1,960

$0.64 ₸289

-14.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.30 MNT 22.6K

$10.74 ₸4,836

-41.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 MNT 3,812

$0.69 ₸312

53.62%

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

$26.6K MNT 95.6M

$22.3K ₸10.0M

19.49%

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

$34.8K MNT 125.2M

$29.3K ₸13.2M

18.76%

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

$69.9 MNT 251.1K

$87.8 ₸39.5K

-20.36%

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

$7.74 MNT 27.8K

$10.83 ₸4,874

-28.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.71 MNT 49.3K

$17.40 ₸7,831

-21.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.7 ₸31.4K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.58 ₸12.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.10 MNT 14.7K

$6.68 ₸3,009

-38.62%

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

$809 MNT 2.9M

$446 ₸200.8K

81.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,442 MNT 30.3M

$11.9K ₸5.4M

-28.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.4 MNT 299.7K

$93.7 ₸42.2K

-10.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.82 MNT 161.0K

$46.91 ₸21.1K

-4.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 MNT 377.5K

$143 ₸64.3K

-26.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$191 MNT 685.9K

$133 ₸60.1K

43.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$773 ₸348.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 ₸223.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 ₸625.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$880 ₸396.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,546 ₸1.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,506 ₸678.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$834 ₸375.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.32

20.65

-50.02%

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

Last update for Mandalgovi: October 4, 2026

Last update for Almaty: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mandalgovi

$238 36.7%

Almaty

$251 18.4% 5.7% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Mandalgovi

$191 29.4%

Almaty

$188 13.7% 1.8% $3.4

Eating Out

Mandalgovi

$117 18.1%

Almaty

$205 15% 75.5% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mandalgovi

$91 14.1%

Almaty

$116 8.5% 27% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Mandalgovi

$8.2 * 1.3%

Almaty

$83 6.1% 913% $75

Getting Around

Mandalgovi

$3.3 * 0.5%

Almaty

$27 2% 741% $24

Accommodation & Living

Mandalgovi

- * 0%

Almaty

$497 36.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Mandalgovi versus $43.00 in Almaty. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $238 vs $251 – making Mandalgovi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇳 Mandalgovi

🇰🇿 Almaty

🕒 Local time

14:37 2:37 PM

12:37 12:37 PM

2 h behind Mandalgovi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,888

1,475,400

💱 Currency

Mongolian Tögrög MNT ₮

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD

10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to MNT – Mongolian Tögrög Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇳 Mongolian Tögrög (₮)

Mongolian Tögrög exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,593 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD). 1 EUR = 4,030 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 450 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MNT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mandalgovi Almaty 2,330 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mandalgovi
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

Mandalgovi vs Almaty: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 119%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $951 per month in Mandalgovi and $2,080 in Almaty. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $634 in Mandalgovi and $1,387 in Almaty. That's a gap of about 119%.

Kindergarten costs $809 per month in Mandalgovi and $446 in Almaty. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Mandalgovi, where all-in costs run around $634, than in Almaty at $1,387. In Mandalgovi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mandalgovi – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Mandalgovi. 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.