Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Africa

East London vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

East London is 19.7% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 69.9% more in East London
Groceries: pay 3.0% less in East London
Transportation: pay 32.4% more in East London
Housing: pay 45.6% less in East London
Childcare: pay 75.4% less in East London
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.0% less in East London
Clothing: pay 19.5% less in East London

The cost of restaurants and transportation in East London are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in East London.

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East London vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in East London instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 69.9% more for restaurants

	Beijing	East London
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.95	$9.31 ZAR153.86	+108.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.94	$5.71 ZAR94.30	+9.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$1.03 ZAR17.04	+97.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$0.75 ZAR12.31	+173.6%
Average			+69.9%

Beijing vs. East London - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.0% less for groceries

	Beijing	East London
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$0.91 ZAR15.10	-47.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.29	$4.31 ZAR71.14	-40.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.89	$4.34 ZAR71.76	-32.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$2.23 ZAR36.79	+10.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$2.43 ZAR40.07	+65.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$0.68 ZAR11.26	-27.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$0.68 ZAR11.25	-13.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$0.75 ZAR12.38	-19.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$0.67 ZAR11.03	-6.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$0.77 ZAR12.70	+139.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.63 ZAR10.47	+59.6%
Average			-3.0%

Beijing vs. East London - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.4% more for transportation

	Beijing	East London
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$5.19 ZAR85.77	+4.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.59	$46.57 ZAR769.31	+35.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$35,391.94 ZAR585K	+82.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$5.05 ZAR83.38	+7.8%
Average			+32.4%

Beijing vs. East London - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.6% less for housing

	Beijing	East London
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.50	$43.66 ZAR721.33	+206.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,268.85	$285.42 ZAR4,715.13	-69.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,553.68	$250.37 ZAR4,136.08	-52.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.74	$93.57 ZAR1,545.81	+110.3%
Average			-45.6%

Beijing vs. East London - Cost of housing

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pay 75.4% less for childcare

	Beijing	East London
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,372.25	$177.26 ZAR2,928.35	-72.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$5,407.94 ZAR89,339.37	-77.7%
Average			-75.4%

Beijing vs. East London - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	East London
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.99	$2.70 ZAR44.67	+126.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$2.10 ZAR34.74	-41.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.95	$2.88 ZAR47.65	-33.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.40	$39.06 ZAR645.23	-5.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.91	$4.66 ZAR76.93	-37.6%
Average			-11.0%

Beijing vs. East London - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.5% less for clothing

	Beijing	East London
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.16	$57.05 ZAR942.53	-19.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.44	$33.02 ZAR545.47	-18.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.17	$72.11 ZAR1,191.19	-17.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.26	$96.14 ZAR1,588.26	-23.3%
Average			-19.5%

Beijing vs. East London - 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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