✦ Compare
Bangkok vs
Bishkek
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Bangkok, TH vs Bishkek, KG at a glance — Bishkek, KG is 59% cheaper than Bangkok, TH overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $350/mo versus $600/mo. Top income tax: 10% vs 35%.
To keep the same standard of living in Bishkek, KG, you'd need
$30,920 / year
Bishkek, KG is 59% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Bishkek, KG vs Bangkok, TH)
- Housing-67%
- Food & groceries-50%
- Transport-60%
- Utilities-56%
- Healthcare-64%
- Goods & services-55%
◎ How Bangkok, TH and Bishkek, KG compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Bangkok, TH | Bishkek, KG | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 63 | 26 |
| Housing | 55 | 18 |
| Food | 60 | 30 |
| Transport | 55 | 22 |
| Utilities | 90 | 40 |
| Healthcare | 70 | 25 |
| Goods & services | 66 | 30 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $600/mo | $350/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $400/mo | $220/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $1,400/mo | $700/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $3,800 | $900 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $1,592 | $3,862 |
| Inexpensive meal | $3 | $4 |
| Monthly transit pass | $35 | $12 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 35% | 10% |
| VAT / sales tax | 7% | 12% |
| Social security (employee) | — | 10% |
| Corporate tax | 20% | 10% |
| Capital gains | — | 10% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $800/mo | $430/mo |
| Minimum wage | $300/mo | $40/mo |
| GDP per capita | $8,057✓ | $3,081✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | -0.1%✓ | 8.2%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | Yes | No |
| English proficiency | Low | Low |
| Coworking spaces | 60 | 8 |
| Time zone | UTC+7 | UTC+6 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 57 | 51 |
| Safety index | 60 | 62 |
| Healthcare index | 72 | 45 |
| Pollution index | 70 | 70 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 45 Mbps |
| Walkability | 60 | 60 |
| Public transport | 65 | 45 |
| Family-friendly | 60 | 60 |
| Tap water | Use caution | Use caution |
| Health insurance | $50/mo | $40/mo |
| Life expectancy | 77 yr✓ | 72 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | Moderate | Low |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +27 °C | -2 °C |
| July avg | +29 °C | +25 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 200 | 322 |
| Rainfall / year | 1,650 mm | 450 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 4 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Thailand vs Kyrgyzstan. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Bangkok vs Bishkek — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Bangkok
A nomad favourite — incredible cheap food, modern transit and low rents, wrapped in heat and traffic.
- Currency
- Thai baht (฿ THB)
- Languages
- Thai
- Time zone
- UTC+7
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Rarely spoken
- Safety
- 60/100
- Climate
- ❄ 27°C · ☀ 29°C · 200 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Bottled recommended
- Power
- A/B/C · 230V
- Driving
- Left-hand side
- Popular areas
- Sukhumvit · Sathorn · Ari
Good to know before you move to Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan's leafy capital sits at the foot of the Tien Shan. A flat 10% tax, very low rents and big mountains on the doorstep are pulling in a small but growing remote-work crowd.
- Currency
- Kyrgyzstani som (с KGS)
- Languages
- Kyrgyz, Russian
- Time zone
- UTC+6
- Internet
- 45 Mbps
- English
- Rarely spoken
- Safety
- 62/100
- Climate
- ❄ -2°C · ☀ 25°C · 322 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Bottled recommended
- Power
- C/F · 220V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Centre · Djal · Vostok-5
Plan your move to Bangkok
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalLocalrent
- Scooter rentalBikesBooking
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
Sponsored
Plan your move to Bishkek
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Bangkok to Bishkek: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Bangkok to Bishkek, your cost of living will be roughly 59% cheaper. Bishkek’s cost-of-living index is 26 versus 63 for Bangkok (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Bangkok cheaper than Bishkek?
Bishkek is about 59% cheaper than Bangkok overall — its cost-of-living index is 26 versus 63 for Bangkok.
Which is more expensive, Bangkok or Bishkek?
Bangkok is more expensive than Bishkek. Its cost-of-living index is 63 vs 26 (US = 100) — about 142% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Bangkok or Bishkek?
Rent is cheaper in Bishkek — about $350/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $600 in Bangkok.
How much do you need to earn in Bishkek to live like in Bangkok?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Bangkok is worth about $30,920 in Bishkek. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Bangkok or Bishkek?
Kyrgyzstan has the lower top income-tax rate — 10% versus 35% in Thailand.
◷ More comparisons from Bangkok
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.