Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taipa and Almaty

For one person, living is cheaper in Almaty: $1,387 a month against $2,021 in Taipa, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

98

Cost of Living Index in Taipa
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Taipa Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index

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Taipa

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,021

/mo nomad

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,021 per month in Taipa vs $1,387 in Almaty, rent included.

Taipa $2,021
Almaty $1,387

A couple spends around $3,175 per month in Taipa vs $2,135 in Almaty, rent included.

Taipa $3,175
Almaty $2,135

A family of three spends $4,330 per month in Taipa vs $2,883 in Almaty, rent included.

Taipa $4,330
Almaty $2,883

Taipa costs about 46% more than Almaty, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Taipa and Almaty sit above the global median – Taipa by 51%, Almaty by 3%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.30 MOP 50.9

$13.31 ₸6,034

-52.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.6 MOP 458

$43.37 ₸19.7K

30.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 MOP 48.13

$8.80 ₸3,988

-32.27%

Cappuccino

$4.87 MOP 39.38

$3.30 ₸1,497

47.58%

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

$0.77 MOP 6.21

$1.37 ₸620

-43.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MOP 2.90

$0.90 ₸409

-60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.87 MOP 47.47

$3.13 ₸1,419

87.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 MOP 58.2

$4.10 ₸1,860

75.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.14 MOP 25.41

$1.66 ₸754

89.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 MOP 14.19

$0.90 ₸406

95.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MOP 13.97

$2.06 ₸933

-16.02%

Eggs

$3.35 MOP 27.06

$2.37 ₸1,074

41.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.42 MOP 133

$12.64 ₸5,730

29.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.52 MOP 158

$6.62 ₸3,000

194.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$28.67 MOP 232

$10.87 ₸4,928

163.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 MOP 21.49

$1.86 ₸845

43.01%

Banana (1kg)

$2.92 MOP 23.58

$2.37 ₸1,075

23.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MOP 15.32

$2.99 ₸1,358

-36.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 MOP 19.14

$2.83 ₸1,282

-16.25%

Potato (1kg)

$4.04 MOP 32.67

$0.77 ₸347

424.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.83 MOP 22.91

$0.58 ₸264

387.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 MOP 5.03

$1.59 ₸723

-61.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MOP 9.54

$0.99 ₸449

19.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.88 MOP 55.6

$2.54 ₸1,153

170.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 MOP 98.3

$11.04 ₸5,005

10.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 MOP 14.35

$1.21 ₸550

47.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 MOP 18.27

$2.41 ₸1,093

-6.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₸113

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.84 ₸9,901

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 MOP 20.64

$1.28 ₸581

99.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 MOP 10.06

$0.64 ₸291

95.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.06 MOP 122

$10.74 ₸4,870

40.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 MOP 14.81

$0.69 ₸314

165.22%

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

$31.5K MOP 254.6K

$22.3K ₸10.1M

41.41%

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

$31.8K MOP 257.1K

$29.3K ₸13.3M

8.43%

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

$122 MOP 984

$87.8 ₸39.8K

38.72%

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

$23.67 MOP 191

$10.83 ₸4,909

118.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.90 MOP 298

$17.40 ₸7,887

112.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.7 MOP 596

$69.7 ₸31.6K

5.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.74 MOP 30.22

$26.58 ₸12.1K

-85.93%

Cinema Ticket

$12.47 MOP 101

$6.68 ₸3,031

86.68%

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

$1,203 MOP 9,723

$446 ₸202.2K

169.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K MOP 150.8K

$11.9K ₸5.4M

56.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.9 MOP 565

$93.7 ₸42.5K

-25.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.04 MOP 275

$46.91 ₸21.3K

-27.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.2 MOP 754

$143 ₸64.7K

-34.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 MOP 1,113

$133 ₸60.5K

3.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,065 MOP 8,607

$773 ₸350.6K

37.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 MOP 8,089

$497 ₸225.5K

101.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,130 MOP 17.2K

$1,390 ₸630.4K

53.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,891 MOP 15.3K

$880 ₸398.9K

114.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$15.9K MOP 128.2K

$2,546 ₸1.2M

523.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$13.6K MOP 109.8K

$1,506 ₸683.0K

801.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$834 ₸377.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.65

-85.47%

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

Last update for Taipa: October 5, 2026

Last update for Almaty: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taipa

$1K 49.1%

Almaty

$497 36.4% 50.3% $503

Groceries & Markets

Taipa

$425 20.8%

Almaty

$251 18.4% 40.8% $173

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taipa

$182 8.9%

Almaty

$116 8.5% 36.4% $66

Eating Out

Taipa

$175 8.6%

Almaty

$205 15% 17.4% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Taipa

$151 7.4%

Almaty

$188 13.7% 24.4% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Taipa

$99 4.8%

Almaty

$83 6.1% 15.8% $16

Getting Around

Taipa

$8.8 * 0.4%

Almaty

$27 2% 211% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,065 in Taipa versus $773 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 $57.0 in Taipa versus $43.00 in Almaty. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $425 vs $251 – making Almaty the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇴 Taipa

🇰🇿 Almaty

🕒 Local time

15:31 3:31 PM

13:31 1:31 PM

2 h behind Taipa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,497

1,475,400

💱 Currency

Macanese Pataca MOP P

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.11 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to MOP – Macanese Pataca Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇴 Macanese Pataca (P)

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 MOP (1 MOP = 0.11 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 453 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 509 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to MOP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Taipa Almaty 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Taipa
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

Taipa vs Almaty: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Taipa is pricier by about 46%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,031 per month in Taipa and $2,080 in Almaty. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,021 in Taipa and $1,387 in Almaty. That's a gap of about 46%.

Kindergarten costs $1,203 per month in Taipa and $446 in Almaty. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Almaty, where all-in costs run around $1,387, than in Taipa at $2,021. In Almaty it covers expenses comfortably, while in Taipa it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Almaty – 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 Almaty. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Taipa makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.