Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toronto and Shymkent

For one person, living is cheaper in Shymkent: $809 a month against $2,530 in Toronto, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Toronto
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Toronto Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Shymkent
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Shymkent Living Index

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Toronto

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,530

/mo nomad

Shymkent

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$809

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Toronto and in Shymkent

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,530 in Toronto versus $809 in Shymkent.

Toronto $2,530
Shymkent $809

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,646 in Toronto versus $1,366 in Shymkent.

Toronto $3,646
Shymkent $1,366

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,761 in Toronto versus $1,924 in Shymkent.

Toronto $4,761
Shymkent $1,924

Living in Toronto is roughly 213% more expensive than in Shymkent, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Toronto is 89% above, Shymkent is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.67 CA$25.19

$11.06 ₸5,015

59.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.4 CA$110

$33.96 ₸15.4K

127.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 CA$14.93

$6.48 ₸2,936

61.57%

Cappuccino

$4.08 CA$5.81

$2.50 ₸1,133

63.20%

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

$2.12 CA$3.02

$1.08 ₸489

96.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 CA$2.51

$0.50 ₸229

252.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.17 CA$8.80

$1.06 ₸481

482.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.89 CA$9.82

$1.30 ₸587

430.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.43 CA$3.46

$1.45 ₸659

67.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.75 CA$3.92

$0.44 ₸200

525.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 CA$3.18

$1.75 ₸793

27.43%

Eggs

$3.45 CA$4.91

$1.65 ₸749

109.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.93 CA$12.73

$10.07 ₸4,567

-11.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.44 CA$16.31

$5.11 ₸2,317

123.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.61 CA$20.83

$8.41 ₸3,814

73.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.75 CA$5.34

$1.19 ₸541

215.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.15 CA$1.64

$2.17 ₸985

-47.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 CA$5.06

$2.45 ₸1,109

44.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 CA$6.10

$1.35 ₸612

217.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 CA$2.63

$0.51 ₸230

262.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 CA$2.38

$0.40 ₸183

317.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.22 CA$3.16

$0.92 ₸419

141.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 CA$1.72

$0.79 ₸357

53.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.88 CA$19.78

$2.42 ₸1,098

473.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.25 CA$20.31

$4.40 ₸1,995

223.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 CA$3.13

$1.06 ₸483

107.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 CA$3.45

$1.51 ₸687

60.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.42 CA$3.44

$0.15 ₸68.5

1513.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$111 CA$158

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.90 CA$4.13

$0.83 ₸378

249.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 CA$1.80

$0.36 ₸164

250.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.03 CA$31.40

$9.79 ₸4,439

125.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 CA$1.74

$0.60 ₸273

103.33%

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

$27.6K CA$39.4K

$27.8K ₸12.6M

-0.54%

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

$19.8K CA$28.3K

$29.1K ₸13.2M

-31.78%

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

$122 CA$174

$47.16 ₸21.4K

158.44%

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

$32.03 CA$45.66

$9.06 ₸4,107

253.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.92 CA$68.3

$15.10 ₸6,848

217.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.90 CA$55.5

$38.81 ₸17.6K

0.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.24 CA$33.12

$8.55 ₸3,876

171.81%

Cinema Ticket

$12.61 CA$17.97

$5.63 ₸2,551

123.98%

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

$834 CA$1,189

$56.9 ₸25.8K

1365.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K CA$33.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 CA$75.0

$35.94 ₸16.3K

46.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.26 CA$57.4

$33.11 ₸15.0K

21.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.2 CA$137

$181 ₸82.1K

-46.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 CA$175

$51.4 ₸23.3K

139.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 CA$2,278

$333 ₸150.9K

380.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 CA$2,045

$197 ₸89.5K

627.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,657 CA$3,787

$693 ₸314.1K

283.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 CA$2,988

$556 ₸252.1K

276.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,033 CA$11.5K

$1,109 ₸502.7K

624.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,557 CA$9,347

$975 ₸442.1K

572.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,743 CA$5,335

$437 ₸198.3K

755.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.47

18.25

-75.51%

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

Last update for Toronto: October 4, 2026

Last update for Shymkent: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Toronto

$1.4K 55.4%

Shymkent

$197 24.9% 86.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Toronto

$340 13.1%

Shymkent

$182 23% 46.6% $158

Eating Out

Toronto

$282 10.9%

Shymkent

$152 19.2% 46% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toronto

$202 7.8%

Shymkent

$71 9% 64.7% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Toronto

$140 5.4%

Shymkent

$136 17.2% 3.3% $4.7

Getting Around

Toronto

$130 5%

Shymkent

$3.3 * 0.4% 97.5% $126

Sport & Entertainment

Toronto

$64 2.5%

Shymkent

$50 6.3% 21.9% $14

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 $1,598 in Toronto and $333 in Shymkent. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toronto pays 756% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $77.0 in Toronto vs $34.00 in Shymkent for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $340 vs $182 per month, with Shymkent cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Toronto

🇰🇿 Shymkent

🕒 Local time

01:09 1:09 AM

11:09 11:09 AM

10 h ahead of Toronto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,731,571

1,222,055

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 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 CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Toronto Shymkent 9,970 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Toronto
Shymkent

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

Toronto vs Shymkent: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Toronto and Shymkent differ by about 213% in total monthly costs ($2,530 vs $809 including rent). Shymkent is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 756% higher in Toronto, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,598 in Toronto versus $333 in Shymkent. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $834 in Toronto versus $56.9 in Shymkent. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Shymkent – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $77.0 in Toronto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $809 in Shymkent versus $2,530 in Toronto, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shymkent but tight or insufficient in Toronto. The gap between the two cities makes Shymkent the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Toronto and Shymkent are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Shymkent gentler on the wallet – expenses run 213% less than in Toronto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.