Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 21.0% more expensive than Bandar Seri Begawan.

Restaurants: pay 25.3% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 17.3% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 16.7% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 17.9% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 3.0 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.4% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 11.4% less in Beijing

The cost of childcare, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Beijing are more expensive than in Bandar Seri Begawan. Expenses including restaurants, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Beijing. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Beijing.

Beijing vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Bandar Seri Begawan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 25.3% less for restaurants

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.68 BND4.76	$4.21 CN¥29.74	+14.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.15 BND7.97	$4.91 CN¥34.69	-20.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 BND1.26	$0.48 CN¥3.39	-50.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 BND0.72	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-44.6%
Average			-25.3%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.3% less for groceries

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 BND2.25	$1.71 CN¥12.07	-1.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.61 BND4.68	$7.47 CN¥52.80	+106.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.83 BND8.85	$6.64 CN¥46.96	-2.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.24 BND2.90	$1.78 CN¥12.56	-20.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 BND2.61	$1.53 CN¥10.83	-24.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 BND1.82	$0.98 CN¥6.95	-30.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.98 BND1.27	$0.77 CN¥5.44	-21.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 BND1.70	$0.80 CN¥5.66	-39.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 BND1.48	$0.60 CN¥4.26	-47.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 BND0.99	$0.35 CN¥2.46	-54.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.92 BND1.19	$0.41 CN¥2.92	-55.2%
Average			-17.3%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.7% more for transportation

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.48 BND1.91	$4.21 CN¥29.77	+185.3%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$31.54 CN¥223.02
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$38,674.88 BND50,099.86	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	-52.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.30 BND34.07	$4.63 CN¥32.71	-82.4%
Average			+16.7%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.9% less for housing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.09 BND88.21	$12.93 CN¥91.43	-81.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$719.61 BND932.19	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	+30.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$451.29 BND584.60	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	+11.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$57.89 BND75.00	$39.27 CN¥277.61	-32.2%
Average			-17.9%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 3.0 times more for childcare

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$156.63 BND202.90	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	+353.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,593.11 BND20,199.49	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	+49.1%
Average			+201.5%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.93 BND2.50	$1.12 CN¥7.93	-42.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.71 BND4.81	$2.90 CN¥20.52	-21.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$15.47 BND20.04	$4.21 CN¥29.74	-72.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 BND40.93	$57.84 CN¥408.91	+83.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.41 BND7.01	$8.41 CN¥59.47	+55.4%
Average			+0.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.4% less for clothing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$95.43 BND123.62	$62.30 CN¥440.46	-34.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$68.10 BND88.22	$36.37 CN¥257.16	-46.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.07 BND150.36	$81.74 CN¥577.91	-29.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$63.82 BND82.68	$105.53 CN¥746.11	+65.3%
Average			-11.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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