Cost of living comparison
compared to
East London vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary
East London is 13.8% more expensive than Beijing.
East London vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown
If you lived in East London instead of Beijing, you would:
pay 94.2% more for restaurants
Beijing | East London | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $4.21 CN¥28.59 | $7.20 ZAR122.35 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $4.91 CN¥33.36 | $4.61 ZAR78.30 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $0.48 CN¥3.26 | $1.04 ZAR17.62 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $0.31 CN¥2.09 | $0.91 ZAR15.42 | |
Beijing vs. East London - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.7% more for groceries
Beijing | East London | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $1.71 CN¥11.60 | $0.87 ZAR14.74 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $7.47 CN¥50.77 | $3.95 ZAR67.10 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $6.64 CN¥45.15 | $4.06 ZAR68.99 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $1.78 CN¥12.08 | $2.14 ZAR36.27 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $1.53 CN¥10.41 | $1.95 ZAR33.19 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $0.98 CN¥6.68 | $0.72 ZAR12.28 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.77 CN¥5.23 | $0.69 ZAR11.74 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $0.80 CN¥5.44 | $0.72 ZAR12.21 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $0.60 CN¥4.09 | $0.67 ZAR11.43 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $0.35 CN¥2.37 | $0.72 ZAR12.15 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.41 CN¥2.80 | $0.52 ZAR8.79 | |
Beijing vs. East London - Cost of groceries
pay 24.4% more for transportation
Beijing | East London | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $4.21 CN¥28.63 | $4.92 ZAR83.58 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $31.54 CN¥214.45 | $22.33 ZAR379.29 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $18,225.66 CN¥124K | $37,451.86 ZAR636K | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $4.63 CN¥31.45 | $4.84 ZAR82.22 | |
Beijing vs. East London - Cost of transportation
pay 70.5% more for housing
Beijing | East London | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $12.93 CN¥87.91 | $45.80 ZAR777.99 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $935.23 CN¥6,357.90 | $273.69 ZAR4,649.33 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $504.41 CN¥3,429.05 | $336.11 ZAR5,709.71 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $39.27 CN¥266.93 | $91.03 ZAR1,546.33 | |
Beijing vs. East London - Cost of housing
pay 82.1% less for childcare
Beijing | East London | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $710.76 CN¥4,831.92 | $121.96 ZAR2,071.81 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $23,242.73 CN¥158K | $4,321.37 ZAR73,410.53 | |
Beijing vs. East London - Cost of childcare
pay 4.5% less for entertainment and sports
Beijing | East London | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $1.12 CN¥7.62 | $2.59 ZAR44.05 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $2.90 CN¥19.73 | $2.21 ZAR37.59 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $4.21 CN¥28.59 | $2.77 ZAR46.98 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $57.84 CN¥393.18 | $34.55 ZAR586.96 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $8.41 CN¥57.19 | $3.75 ZAR63.62 | |
Beijing vs. East London - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.4% less for clothing
Beijing | East London | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $62.30 CN¥423.52 | $53.99 ZAR917.14 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $36.37 CN¥247.27 | $29.75 ZAR505.39 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $81.74 CN¥555.69 | $99.87 ZAR1,696.60 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $105.53 CN¥717.42 | $88.33 ZAR1,500.51 | |
Beijing vs. East London - Cost of clothing
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: June 2026
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