Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cartagena vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Cartagena is 22.5% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 90.4% more in Cartagena
Groceries: pay 28.1% more in Cartagena
Transportation: pay 62.5% more in Cartagena
Housing: pay 68.0% more in Cartagena
Childcare: pay 69.8% less in Cartagena
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.2% less in Cartagena
Clothing: pay 18.7% more in Cartagena

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

Cartagena vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 90.4% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Cartagena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$6.08 COP23,106.09	+44.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$9.99 COP37,949.89	+103.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$0.88 COP3,360.84	+84.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.70 COP2,670.02	+129.0%
Average			+90.4%

Beijing vs. Cartagena - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.1% more for groceries

	Beijing	Cartagena
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$2.01 COP7,651.68	+18.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$3.71 COP14,093.07	-50.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$4.75 COP18,051.51	-28.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.30 COP8,750.82	+29.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$2.95 COP11,194.34	+92.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$1.56 COP5,942.07	+59.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.94 COP3,567.92	+22.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$0.72 COP2,720.54	-10.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.78 COP2,973.26	+30.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.76 COP2,898.93	+118.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.53 COP2,006.95	+28.1%
Average			+28.1%

Beijing vs. Cartagena - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 62.5% more for transportation

	Beijing	Cartagena
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$3.99 COP15,160.48	-5.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	$30.54 COP116,022.06	-3.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$22,645.31 COP86,033,306.54	+24.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$15.45 COP58,708.83	+234.0%
Average			+62.5%

Beijing vs. Cartagena - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 68.0% more for housing

	Beijing	Cartagena
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$26.66 COP101,273.49	+106.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$776.41 COP2,949,713.37	-17.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$451.77 COP1,716,359.12	-10.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$115.21 COP437,706.07	+193.4%
Average			+68.0%

Beijing vs. Cartagena - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 69.8% less for childcare

	Beijing	Cartagena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$151.40 COP575,194.11	-78.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$9,058.12 COP34,413,322.61	-61.0%
Average			-69.8%

Beijing vs. Cartagena - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Cartagena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$0.91 COP3,441.33	-19.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$1.68 COP6,391.05	-42.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$2.46 COP9,340.76	-41.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$37.46 COP142,323.67	-35.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$3.11 COP11,798.85	-63.1%
Average			-40.2%

Beijing vs. Cartagena - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.7% more for clothing

	Beijing	Cartagena
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$51.76 COP196,647.56	-16.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$41.41 COP157,318.05	+13.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$133.72 COP508,006.19	+63.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$120.77 COP458,844.30	+14.4%
Average			+18.7%

Beijing vs. Cartagena - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Beijing vs.

Canberra

Beijing vs.

Dodoma

Beijing vs.

Paris

Beijing vs.

Lima

Beijing vs.

Singapore

Beijing vs.

Mexico City

Beijing vs.

Ottawa

Beijing vs.

Wellington

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Beijing

Add prices for Cartagena

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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