Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Greece

Athens vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Athens is 38.4% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 3.0 times more in Athens
Groceries: pay 29.4% more in Athens
Transportation: pay 45.4% more in Athens
Housing: pay 24.8% more in Athens
Childcare: pay 31.7% less in Athens
Entertainment and Sports: pay 68.0% more in Athens
Clothing: pay 10.9% more in Athens

The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, housing, and clothing in Athens are more expensive than in Beijing. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Athens.

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Athens vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Athens instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.0 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Athens
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$16.80 €14.95	+275.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$11.20 €9.97	+114.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$2.82 €2.51	+439.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$0.56 €0.50	+105.6%
Average			+201.3%

Beijing vs. Athens - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.4% more for groceries

	Beijing	Athens
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$1.43 €1.27	-17.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.28	$7.56 €6.73	+4.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.88	$7.14 €6.35	+11.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$4.99 €4.44	+146.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$4.76 €4.24	+224.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$0.99 €0.88	+6.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$0.89 €0.79	+12.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$0.64 €0.57	-31.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.75	$0.97 €0.87	+36.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$0.48 €0.43	+50.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.52 €0.46	+30.2%
Average			+29.4%

Beijing vs. Athens - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.4% more for transportation

	Beijing	Athens
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$8.72 €7.76	+75.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.53	$30.23 €26.91	-11.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$27,970.99 €24,895.19	+44.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$12.54 €11.16	+167.8%
Average			+45.4%

Beijing vs. Athens - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.8% more for housing

	Beijing	Athens
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.47	$30.36 €27.02	+112.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	$742.36 €660.73	-20.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	$655.59 €583.50	+23.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.65	$160.58 €142.92	+260.9%
Average			+24.8%

Beijing vs. Athens - Cost of housing

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pay 31.7% less for childcare

	Beijing	Athens
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	$573.57 €510.50	-12.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	$12,885.92 €11,468.93	-46.9%
Average			-31.7%

Beijing vs. Athens - Cost of childcare

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pay 68.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Athens
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$5.60 €4.98	+369.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$4.11 €3.66	+14.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.94	$5.60 €4.98	+29.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.32	$54.57 €48.57	+31.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.90	$10.64 €9.47	+42.6%
Average			+68.0%

Beijing vs. Athens - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.9% more for clothing

	Beijing	Athens
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.03	$91.55 €81.48	+29.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.36	$40.01 €35.61	-1.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.00	$104.08 €92.64	+19.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.02	$123.50 €109.92	-1.5%
Average			+10.9%

Beijing vs. Athens - 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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