Are you tormented by Starbucks’ high prices in Moscow? You’ve got good reason to feel pinched, according to a new study that says the cafe chain’s latte prices are higher in Russia than anywhere else in the world, when adjusted for consumer prices and local income levels.
Modeled on The Economist’s “BigMac Index” for McDonald’s burger prices worldwide, the “Latte Index,” released by an analytical company called ValuePenguin, uses data from the World Bank and Euromonitor International about consumer prices at Starbucks in countries around the globe.
According to the study, a tall-sized latte at a Moscow Starbucks costs 255 rubles (about $4.50), while the price is slightly lower in other Russian cities. ValuePenguin says this is the equivalent of a $12.32 latte in the United States, where a tall latte actually runs customers about $2.75 — the lowest price Starbucks customers pay anywhere in the world.
In addition to Russia, Starbucks lattes are also enormously expensive in Vietnam (averaging an equivalent $8.18, adjusted for American consumers), Thailand ($8.04), and India ($7.99).
The adjusted price in many Western countries is roughly the same as the U.S. price, however: $2.86 in Australia, $2.88 in Great Britain, and $3.06 in Canada.
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