Cost of living comparison

Thailand

compared to

China

Nanjing vs. Bangkok Cost of Living Summary

Nanjing is 22.3% cheaper than Bangkok.

Restaurants: pay 7.6% less in Nanjing
Groceries: pay 30.6% less in Nanjing
Transportation: pay 24.2% less in Nanjing
Housing: pay 26.7% less in Nanjing
Childcare: pay 88.0% more in Nanjing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.0% less in Nanjing
Clothing: pay 29.0% less in Nanjing

Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, housing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Nanjing. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Nanjing.

Planning a move to China? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Nanjing vs. Bangkok Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nanjing instead of Bangkok, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.6% less for restaurants

	Bangkok	Nanjing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.97 THB99.93	$3.73 CN¥24.89	+25.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.98 THB234.83	$4.85 CN¥32.35	-30.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 THB21.88	$0.51 CN¥3.43	-21.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.35 THB11.85	$0.26 CN¥1.74	-25.9%
Average			-7.6%

Bangkok vs. Nanjing - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.6% less for groceries

	Bangkok	Nanjing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.48 THB49.71	$2.11 CN¥14.10	+43.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.63 THB290.22	$5.29 CN¥35.34	-38.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.27 THB244.58	$8.05 CN¥53.70	+10.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 THB86.28	$1.33 CN¥8.90	-48.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.63 THB54.88	$1.35 CN¥9.03	-17.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77 THB59.51	$0.95 CN¥6.36	-46.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 THB27.13	$0.58 CN¥3.84	-28.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 THB41.81	$0.79 CN¥5.31	-36.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.87 THB29.41	$0.49 CN¥3.30	-43.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 THB26.29	$0.40 CN¥2.64	-49.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.69 THB23.27	$0.42 CN¥2.82	-38.9%
Average			-30.6%

Bangkok vs. Nanjing - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.2% less for transportation

	Bangkok	Nanjing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.32 THB178.88	$5.04 CN¥33.65	-5.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.98 THB1,176.64	$29.83 CN¥199.09	-14.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,193.83 THB1M	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-37.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.55 THB354.74	$4.94 CN¥32.95	-53.2%
Average			-24.2%

Bangkok vs. Nanjing - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.7% less for housing

	Bangkok	Nanjing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.88 THB601.26	$7.16 CN¥47.78	-59.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$675.80 THB22,731.05	$523.69 CN¥3,495.09	-22.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$346.10 THB11,641.49	$296.48 CN¥1,978.71	-14.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.03 THB2,759.05	$41.74 CN¥278.60	-49.1%
Average			-26.7%

Bangkok vs. Nanjing - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 88.0% more for childcare

	Bangkok	Nanjing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$568.31 THB19,115.66	$1,482.08 CN¥9,891.40	+160.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,500.59 THB555K	$22,372.70 CN¥149K	+35.6%
Average			+88.0%

Bangkok vs. Nanjing - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Bangkok	Nanjing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.67 THB89.93	$1.49 CN¥9.95	-44.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.79 THB93.99	$3.08 CN¥20.57	+10.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.60 THB154.89	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-19.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.43 THB1,965.23	$28.59 CN¥190.79	-51.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.58 THB254.81	$5.97 CN¥39.82	-21.2%
Average			-30.0%

Bangkok vs. Nanjing - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.0% less for clothing

	Bangkok	Nanjing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.75 THB2,379.76	$42.71 CN¥285.03	-39.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.94 THB1,444.28	$33.91 CN¥226.34	-21.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.05 THB3,264.28	$65.18 CN¥435.01	-32.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.92 THB3,697.30	$87.34 CN¥582.90	-20.5%
Average			-29.0%

Bangkok vs. Nanjing - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Bangkok vs. Nanjing

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Nanjing?

More cost comparisons

Bangkok vs.

Stara Zagora

Bangkok vs.

Madrid

Bangkok vs.

Toronto

Bangkok vs.

Athens

Bangkok vs.

Paris

Bangkok vs.

Sydney

Bangkok vs.

Warsaw

Bangkok vs.

London

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Thailand vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Thailand and China.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Bangkok

Add prices for Nanjing

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nanjing or Bangkok. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.