Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Romania

Alba Iulia vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Alba Iulia is 24.6% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 83.0% more in Alba Iulia
Groceries: pay 17.0% less in Alba Iulia
Transportation: pay 0.9% more in Alba Iulia
Housing: pay 46.3% less in Alba Iulia
Childcare: pay 56.0% less in Alba Iulia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.8% less in Alba Iulia
Clothing: pay 39.0% less in Alba Iulia

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

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Alba Iulia vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Alba Iulia instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 83.0% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Alba Iulia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.95	$8.37 RON39.87	+87.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.94	$5.75 RON27.41	+10.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$1.74 RON8.31	+233.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$1.46 RON6.98	+437.5%
Average			+83.0%

Beijing vs. Alba Iulia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.0% less for groceries

	Beijing	Alba Iulia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$1.12 RON5.32	-35.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.29	$3.83 RON18.27	-46.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.89	$4.73 RON22.54	-26.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$2.73 RON13.02	+35.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$2.72 RON12.96	+85.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$0.41 RON1.96	-56.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$0.60 RON2.86	-23.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$0.57 RON2.71	-38.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$1.04 RON4.97	+46.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$0.33 RON1.58	+3.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.26 RON1.24	-34.7%
Average			-17.0%

Beijing vs. Alba Iulia - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.9% more for transportation

	Beijing	Alba Iulia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$5.72 RON27.27	+15.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.59	$16.73 RON79.74	-51.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$28,531.98 RON136K	+47.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$5.83 RON27.81	+24.6%
Average			+0.9%

Beijing vs. Alba Iulia - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.3% less for housing

	Beijing	Alba Iulia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.50	$9.09 RON43.30	-36.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,268.85	$293.30 RON1,397.87	-68.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,553.68	$284.72 RON1,356.96	-46.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.74	$95.16 RON453.52	+113.9%
Average			-46.3%

Beijing vs. Alba Iulia - Cost of housing

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pay 56.0% less for childcare

	Beijing	Alba Iulia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,372.25	$443.91 RON2,115.67	-32.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$6,921.71 RON32,988.87	-71.5%
Average			-56.0%

Beijing vs. Alba Iulia - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Alba Iulia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.99	$1.99 RON9.47	+66.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$2.23 RON10.63	-38.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.95	$5.23 RON24.92	+20.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.40	$29.28 RON139.54	-29.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.91	$5.02 RON23.92	-32.7%
Average			-14.8%

Beijing vs. Alba Iulia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.0% less for clothing

	Beijing	Alba Iulia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.16	$38.69 RON184.40	-45.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.44	$23.70 RON112.96	-41.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.17	$74.74 RON356.20	-14.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.26	$62.74 RON299.02	-50.0%
Average			-39.0%

Beijing vs. Alba Iulia - Cost of clothing

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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

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