Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Xiangtan and Almaty

For one person, living is cheaper in Xiangtan: $707 a month against $1,387 in Almaty, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Xiangtan
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Xiangtan Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Almaty
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Almaty Living Index

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Xiangtan

🇨🇳 China

$707

/mo nomad

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$1,387

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $707 per month in Xiangtan vs $1,387 in Almaty, rent included.

Xiangtan $707
Almaty $1,387

A couple spends around $1,119 per month in Xiangtan vs $2,135 in Almaty, rent included.

Xiangtan $1,119
Almaty $2,135

A family of three spends $1,531 per month in Xiangtan vs $2,883 in Almaty, rent included.

Xiangtan $1,531
Almaty $2,883

Xiangtan is about 49% cheaper than Almaty, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Xiangtan sits 47% below the global median, while Almaty is 3% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.82 ¥18.84

$13.31 ₸6,005

-78.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.94 ¥147

$43.37 ₸19.6K

-49.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.92 ¥32.89

$8.80 ₸3,969

-44.09%

Cappuccino

$2.98 ¥19.90

$3.30 ₸1,490

-9.70%

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

$0.44 ¥2.93

$1.37 ₸617

-67.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$0.90 ₸407

-70.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.94 ¥6.28

$3.13 ₸1,412

-69.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ¥13.58

$4.10 ₸1,851

-50.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 ¥11.89

$1.66 ₸750

7.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥10.27

$0.90 ₸404

71.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.90 ¥6.04

$2.06 ₸929

-56.31%

Eggs

$1.59 ¥10.59

$2.37 ₸1,069

-32.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.90 ¥86.2

$12.64 ₸5,702

2.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.26 ¥21.76

$6.62 ₸2,985

-50.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ¥68.4

$10.87 ₸4,904

-5.80%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 ¥12.02

$1.86 ₸841

-3.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.25 ¥8.37

$2.37 ₸1,070

-47.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.52 ¥10.17

$2.99 ₸1,351

-49.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ¥7.68

$2.83 ₸1,276

-59.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ¥4.63

$0.77 ₸346

-10.39%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.31

$0.58 ₸263

62.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 ¥4.02

$1.59 ₸719

-62.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ¥3.61

$0.99 ₸447

-45.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 ¥20.99

$2.54 ₸1,147

23.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.52 ¥70.3

$11.04 ₸4,981

-4.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥5.04

$1.21 ₸548

-38.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 ¥11.00

$2.41 ₸1,087

-31.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$0.25 ₸113

8.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.93 ¥113

$21.84 ₸9,854

-22.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.41 ¥9.43

$1.28 ₸578

10.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 ¥2.17

$0.64 ₸290

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.63 ¥44.30

$10.74 ₸4,847

-38.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ¥7.90

$0.69 ₸313

71.01%

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

$19.5K ¥130.4K

$22.3K ₸10.1M

-12.37%

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

$16.9K ¥113.1K

$29.3K ₸13.2M

-42.31%

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

$44.88 ¥300

$87.8 ₸39.6K

-48.86%

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

$10.05 ¥67.2

$10.83 ₸4,886

-7.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.93 ¥79.7

$17.40 ₸7,850

-31.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.95 ¥274

$69.7 ₸31.4K

-41.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.70 ¥91.6

$26.58 ₸12.0K

-48.46%

Cinema Ticket

$5.87 ¥39.21

$6.68 ₸3,016

-12.13%

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

$337 ¥2,253

$446 ₸201.2K

-24.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ¥114.2K

$11.9K ₸5.4M

43.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.90 ¥293

$93.7 ₸42.3K

-53.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.68 ¥205

$46.91 ₸21.2K

-34.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.5 ¥471

$143 ₸64.4K

-50.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.6 ¥485

$133 ₸60.2K

-45.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$274 ¥1,833

$773 ₸349.0K

-64.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ¥1,286

$497 ₸224.4K

-61.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ¥3,936

$1,390 ₸627.4K

-57.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 ¥2,381

$880 ₸397.0K

-59.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,066 ¥20.5K

$2,546 ₸1.1M

20.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,049 ¥13.7K

$1,506 ₸679.8K

36.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$834 ₸376.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

20.65

-81.16%

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

Last update for Xiangtan: October 3, 2026

Last update for Almaty: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Xiangtan

$198 27.8%

Almaty

$251 18.4% 26.8% $53

Accommodation & Living

Xiangtan

$192 27%

Almaty

$497 36.4% 159% $305

Clothing & Footwear

Xiangtan

$98 13.7%

Almaty

$188 13.7% 91.5% $90

Eating Out

Xiangtan

$85 11.9%

Almaty

$205 15% 143% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Xiangtan

$67 9.4%

Almaty

$116 8.5% 73.5% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Xiangtan

$53 7.4%

Almaty

$83 6.1% 57.7% $30

Getting Around

Xiangtan

$21 3%

Almaty

$27 2% 29.9% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $274 in Xiangtan 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 $22.00 in Xiangtan versus $43.00 in Almaty. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $198 vs $251 – making Xiangtan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Xiangtan

🇰🇿 Almaty

🕒 Local time

11:28 11:28 AM

09:28 9:28 AM

2 h behind Xiangtan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,748,552

1,475,400

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 451 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Xiangtan Almaty 3,640 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Xiangtan
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

Xiangtan vs Almaty: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Almaty is pricier by about 96%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,061 per month in Xiangtan 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 Xiangtan, 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 $22.00 in Xiangtan 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 $707 in Xiangtan and $1,387 in Almaty. That's a gap of about 96%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Xiangtan, where all-in costs run around $707, than in Almaty at $1,387. In Xiangtan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Almaty it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Xiangtan – 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 Xiangtan. 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.