Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago City and Almaty

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago City: $854 a month against $1,363 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Santiago City
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Santiago City Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index

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Santiago City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$854

/mo nomad

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,363

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $854 per month in Santiago City vs $1,363 in Almaty, rent included.

Santiago City $854
Almaty $1,363

A couple spends around $1,345 per month in Santiago City vs $2,131 in Almaty, rent included.

Santiago City $1,345
Almaty $2,131

A family of three spends $1,836 per month in Santiago City vs $2,900 in Almaty, rent included.

Santiago City $1,836
Almaty $2,900

Santiago City is about 37% cheaper than Almaty, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Santiago City sits 37% below the global median, while Almaty is 1% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.51 ₱410

$13.05 ₸5,899

-50.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.27 ₱2,472

$43.44 ₸19.6K

-9.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 ₱308

$8.76 ₸3,962

-44.18%

Cappuccino

$2.66 ₱168

$3.32 ₸1,501

-19.88%

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

$1.10 ₱69.4

$1.34 ₸607

-17.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₱33.94

$0.83 ₸374

-34.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.34 ₱147

$3.36 ₸1,518

-30.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 ₱200

$4.02 ₸1,818

-21.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.65 ₸747

16.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 ₱80.6

$0.93 ₸421

37.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.7

$2.05 ₸927

-50.73%

Eggs

$1.42 ₱89.2

$2.46 ₸1,113

-42.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.36 ₱463

$12.49 ₸5,646

-41.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.95 ₱311

$6.71 ₸3,035

-26.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.77 ₱426

$10.85 ₸4,905

-37.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.43 ₱153

$1.78 ₸807

36.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 ₱123

$2.25 ₸1,018

-12.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.20 ₱202

$2.87 ₸1,299

11.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 ₱145

$2.71 ₸1,227

-14.76%

Potato (1kg)

$3.65 ₱230

$0.80 ₸362

356.25%

Onion (1kg)

$3.52 ₱221

$0.55 ₸249

540.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₱70.4

$1.62 ₸732

-30.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₱36.26

$1.00 ₸453

-42.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.60 ₱163

$2.58 ₸1,167

0.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 ₱503

$11.15 ₸5,039

-28.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 ₱83.0

$1.26 ₸572

4.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ₱129

$2.48 ₸1,120

-17.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 ₱15.03

$0.28 ₸128

-14.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.36 ₱715

$22.05 ₸9,970

-48.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.62 ₱39.29

$1.34 ₸607

-53.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.64 ₸288

-64.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 ₱121

$11.04 ₸4,993

-82.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ₱79.4

$0.72 ₸326

75.00%

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

$21.6K ₱1.4M

$28.1K ₸12.7M

-23.38%

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

$19.9K ₱1.3M

$31.8K ₸14.4M

-37.32%

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

$155 ₱9,755

$90.5 ₸40.9K

71.16%

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

$16.27 ₱1,025

$10.63 ₸4,805

53.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.63 ₱1,991

$18.12 ₸8,190

74.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.06 ₱2,019

$69.0 ₸31.2K

-53.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.73 ₱298

$26.98 ₸12.2K

-82.47%

Cinema Ticket

$7.27 ₱458

$6.77 ₸3,062

7.39%

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

$135 ₱8,518

$444 ₸200.6K

-69.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,571 ₱476.7K

$12.0K ₸5.4M

-36.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.62 ₱2,116

$91.9 ₸41.5K

-63.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.43 ₱1,223

$47.80 ₸21.6K

-59.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.8 ₱5,025

$139 ₸63.0K

-42.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.2 ₱3,478

$131 ₸59.4K

-57.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$266 ₱16.7K

$777 ₸351.2K

-65.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 ₱10.7K

$494 ₸223.4K

-65.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$521 ₱32.8K

$1,439 ₸650.4K

-63.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$360 ₱22.7K

$905 ₸409.2K

-60.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,370 ₱149.2K

$2,470 ₸1.1M

-4.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$994 ₱62.6K

$1,517 ₸685.7K

-34.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$857 ₸387.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

20.65

-63.68%

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

Last update for Santiago City: October 19, 2026

Last update for Almaty: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santiago City

$213 25%

Almaty

$251 18.4% 17.5% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago City

$203 23.7%

Almaty

$119 8.8% 41.2% $84

Accommodation & Living

Santiago City

$170 19.9%

Almaty

$494 36.3% 191% $324

Eating Out

Santiago City

$123 14.4%

Almaty

$204 15% 65.5% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago City

$85 9.9%

Almaty

$185 13.6% 118% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago City

$47 5.5%

Almaty

$83 6.1% 77.1% $36

Getting Around

Santiago City

$14 1.7%

Almaty

$28 2% 96.7% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $266 in Santiago City versus $777 in Almaty. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $39.00 in Santiago City versus $43.00 in Almaty. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $213 vs $251 – making Santiago City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Santiago City

🇰🇿 Almaty

🕒 Local time

08:32 8:32 AM

06:32 6:32 AM

2 h behind Santiago City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,414

1,475,400

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santiago City Almaty 5,120 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago City
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

Santiago City vs Almaty: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 60%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,281 per month in Santiago City and $2,044 in Almaty. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santiago City, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $39.00 in Santiago City and $43.00 in Almaty. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $854 in Santiago City and $1,363 in Almaty. That's a gap of about 60%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Santiago City, where all-in costs run around $854, than in Almaty at $1,363. In Santiago City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Santiago City. 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.