Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saransk and Kyiv

For one person, living is cheaper in Kyiv: $998 a month against $1,092 in Saransk, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Saransk
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Saransk Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Kyiv
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Kyiv Living Index

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Saransk

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,092

/mo nomad

Kyiv

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$998

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Saransk and in Kyiv

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,092 in Saransk versus $998 in Kyiv.

Saransk $1,092
Kyiv $998

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,736 in Saransk versus $1,570 in Kyiv.

Saransk $1,736
Kyiv $1,570

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,380 in Saransk versus $2,141 in Kyiv.

Saransk $2,380
Kyiv $2,141

Living in Saransk is roughly 9% more expensive than in Kyiv, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Saransk 19% lower, Kyiv 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.24 ₽1,189

$10.97 ₴493

29.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.6 ₽4,393

$33.87 ₴1,520

55.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.06 ₽589

$7.60 ₴341

-7.11%

Cappuccino

$3.19 ₽266

$1.67 ₴74.9

91.02%

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

$1.76 ₽147

$0.79 ₴35.25

122.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 ₽58.1

$0.56 ₴25.02

25.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.87 ₽156

$1.31 ₴58.7

42.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 ₽310

$1.99 ₴89.2

86.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 ₽100

$1.31 ₴58.7

-8.40%

White Bread (500g)

$0.82 ₽68.0

$0.90 ₴40.60

-8.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 ₽117

$1.48 ₴66.6

-5.41%

Eggs

$1.56 ₽130

$2.06 ₴92.7

-24.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.95 ₽997

$10.07 ₴452

18.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.87 ₽406

$5.16 ₴232

-5.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.28 ₽1,108

$8.81 ₴395

50.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 ₽148

$1.19 ₴53.6

48.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 ₽139

$1.51 ₴67.9

9.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 ₽142

$1.80 ₴80.9

-5.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.48 ₽290

$2.71 ₴122

28.41%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 ₽55.0

$0.60 ₴26.91

10.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.60 ₽50.4

$0.45 ₴20.24

33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ₽107

$1.46 ₴65.4

-11.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 ₽59.0

$0.62 ₴27.82

14.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 ₽254

$3.52 ₴158

-13.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.58 ₽716

$5.61 ₴252

52.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 ₽91.5

$0.88 ₴39.57

25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 ₽199

$1.44 ₴64.5

65.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 ₽46.02

$0.59 ₴26.33

-6.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.32 ₴508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.12 ₽177

$2.18 ₴98.1

-2.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 ₽33.85

$0.42 ₴18.77

-2.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.13 ₽595

$4.35 ₴195

63.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 ₽67.9

$1.73 ₴77.6

-53.18%

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

$40.9K ₽3.4M

$29.5K ₴1.3M

38.77%

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

$32.8K ₽2.7M

$26.4K ₴1.2M

24.39%

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

$145 ₽12.1K

$98.3 ₴4,411

47.22%

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

$6.86 ₽573

$6.97 ₴313

-1.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.73 ₽645

$6.77 ₴304

14.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.73 ₽2,565

$36.79 ₴1,651

-16.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.61 ₽1,887

$18.38 ₴825

23.01%

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 ₽608

$5.45 ₴245

33.58%

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

$314 ₽26.2K

$403 ₴18.1K

-22.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,027 ₽586.5K

$15.0K ₴671.1K

-53.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 ₽5,657

$75.4 ₴3,383

-10.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.4 ₽4,538

$40.07 ₴1,798

35.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 ₽11.5K

$95.5 ₴4,286

43.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.2 ₽6,776

$119 ₴5,347

-31.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$473 ₽39.4K

$621 ₴27.9K

-23.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₽25.8K

$337 ₴15.1K

-8.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$894 ₽74.6K

$1,252 ₴56.2K

-28.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 ₽46.9K

$630 ₴28.3K

-10.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,232 ₽186.3K

$2,648 ₴118.9K

-15.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,483 ₽123.8K

$1,131 ₴50.8K

31.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$662 ₽55.3K

$813 ₴36.5K

-18.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.81

17.88

16.39%

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

Last update for Saransk: October 13, 2026

Last update for Kyiv: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Saransk

$309 28.3%

Kyiv

$337 33.7% 9.1% $28

Groceries & Markets

Saransk

$219 20.1%

Kyiv

$189 18.9% 13.8% $30

Eating Out

Saransk

$200 18.3%

Kyiv

$146 14.7% 26.7% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saransk

$159 14.6%

Kyiv

$112 11.2% 29.7% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Saransk

$153 14%

Kyiv

$149 14.9% 3.1% $4.8

Sport & Entertainment

Saransk

$45 4.2%

Kyiv

$48 4.8% 5.3% $2.4

Getting Around

Saransk

$6.4 * 0.6%

Kyiv

$18 1.8% 183% $12

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 $473 in Saransk and $621 in Kyiv. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kyiv pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $53.0 in Saransk vs $34.00 in Kyiv for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $219 vs $189 per month, with Kyiv cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Saransk

🇺🇦 Kyiv

🕒 Local time

07:16 7:16 AM

Same time as Saransk

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

320,612

2,908,249 Capital

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UAH, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 44.89 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.46 UAH (100 UAH = 1.98 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saransk Kyiv 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Saransk
Kyiv

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Saransk vs Kyiv: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kyiv is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 9% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Kyiv. 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: $473 in Saransk versus $621 in Kyiv. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $314 in Saransk versus $403 in Kyiv. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kyiv – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $53.0 in Saransk. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $998 in Kyiv versus $1,092 in Saransk, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kyiv but tight or insufficient in Saransk. The gap between the two cities makes Kyiv the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Kyiv gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Saransk. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.