Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Australia

Brisbane vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Brisbane is 96.8% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 3.6 times more in Brisbane
Groceries: pay 89.4% more in Brisbane
Transportation: pay 14.2% more in Brisbane
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Brisbane
Childcare: pay 23.3% more in Brisbane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.6 times more in Brisbane
Clothing: pay 9.9% more in Brisbane

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

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Brisbane vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.6 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Brisbane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.95	$17.41 A$24.92	+289.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.94	$11.14 A$15.95	+113.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$2.86 A$4.09	+447.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$2.52 A$3.61	+824.8%
Average			+255.8%

Beijing vs. Brisbane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 89.4% more for groceries

	Beijing	Brisbane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$2.68 A$3.84	+55.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.29	$4.61 A$6.60	-36.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.89	$6.22 A$8.91	-2.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$4.84 A$6.93	+139.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$4.15 A$5.94	+182.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$1.91 A$2.73	+104.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$1.39 A$2.00	+76.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$1.34 A$1.91	+44.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$2.19 A$3.14	+208.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$1.26 A$1.81	+293.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$1.08 A$1.55	+173.0%
Average			+89.4%

Beijing vs. Brisbane - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.2% more for transportation

	Beijing	Brisbane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$5.34 A$7.64	+7.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.59	$20.89 A$29.91	-39.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$26,937.53 A$38,570.34	+39.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$17.59 A$25.18	+275.5%
Average			+14.2%

Beijing vs. Brisbane - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Beijing	Brisbane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.50	$60.25 A$86.27	+322.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,268.85	$1,938.39 A$2,775.47	+106.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,553.68	$1,339.97 A$1,918.63	+152.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.74	$120.77 A$172.92	+171.5%
Average			+141.8%

Beijing vs. Brisbane - Cost of housing

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pay 23.3% more for childcare

	Beijing	Brisbane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,372.25	$1,919.27 A$2,748.09	+193.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$12,560.73 A$17,985.01	-48.3%
Average			+23.3%

Beijing vs. Brisbane - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.6 times more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Brisbane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.99	$8.35 A$11.96	+600.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$4.35 A$6.23	+20.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.95	$38.29 A$54.83	+785.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.40	$61.15 A$87.56	+47.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.91	$17.41 A$24.92	+133.4%
Average			+159.7%

Beijing vs. Brisbane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.9% more for clothing

	Beijing	Brisbane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.16	$83.20 A$119.13	+17.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.44	$44.18 A$63.26	+9.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.17	$111.40 A$159.51	+28.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.26	$110.82 A$158.67	-11.6%
Average			+9.9%

Beijing vs. Brisbane - 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Beijing is about 12 times bigger than Brisbane.

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