Cost of living comparison
compared to
Kyoto vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary
Kyoto is 50.4% more expensive than Beijing.
- Restaurants
-
pay 95.7% more in Kyoto
- Groceries
-
pay 87.9% more in Kyoto
- Transportation
-
pay 2.6 times more in Kyoto
- Housing
-
pay 46.6% more in Kyoto
- Childcare
-
pay 58.0% less in Kyoto
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 50.1% more in Kyoto
- Clothing
-
pay 24.7% less in Kyoto
The cost of transportation, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing in Kyoto are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Kyoto. Notably, transportation, restaurants, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Kyoto.
Kyoto vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Kyoto instead of Beijing, you would:
pay 95.7% more for restaurants
|
Beijing
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.21
CN¥29.67
|
$10.02
¥1,561
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.91
CN¥34.62
|
$5.35
¥833
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.48
CN¥3.38
|
$0.92
¥144
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.31
CN¥2.17
|
$0.74
¥116
|
|
Beijing vs. Kyoto - Cost of restaurants
pay 87.9% more for groceries
|
Beijing
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
CN¥12.04
|
$1.70
¥265
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.47
CN¥52.69
|
$4.57
¥711
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.64
CN¥46.85
|
$6.67
¥1,039
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.78
CN¥12.53
|
$2.23
¥347
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.53
CN¥10.80
|
$3.09
¥482
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.98
CN¥6.93
|
$2.42
¥378
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.77
CN¥5.43
|
$1.11
¥173
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.80
CN¥5.65
|
$2.83
¥441
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
CN¥4.25
|
$1.72
¥268
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.35
CN¥2.46
|
$0.71
¥110
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.41
CN¥2.91
|
$1.01
¥157
|
|
Beijing vs. Kyoto - Cost of groceries
pay 2.6 times more for transportation
|
Beijing
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.21
CN¥29.71
|
$4.43
¥690
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$31.54
CN¥222.53
|
$66.82
¥10,408
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$18,225.66
CN¥128,572.93
|
$22,332.63
¥3,478,419
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$4.63
CN¥32.64
|
$26.86
¥4,184
|
|
Beijing vs. Kyoto - Cost of transportation
pay 46.6% more for housing
|
Beijing
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$12.93
CN¥91.22
|
$32.58
¥5,074
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$935.23
CN¥6,597.60
|
$570.06
¥88,790
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$504.41
CN¥3,558.33
|
$318.25
¥49,569
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$39.27
CN¥277.00
|
$82.56
¥12,859
|
|
Beijing vs. Kyoto - Cost of housing
pay 58.0% less for childcare
|
Beijing
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$710.76
CN¥5,014.09
|
$434.36
¥67,653
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,242.73
CN¥163,965.81
|
$5,345.93
¥832,656
|
|
Beijing vs. Kyoto - Cost of childcare
pay 50.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Beijing
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.12
CN¥7.91
|
$3.34
¥520
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.90
CN¥20.47
|
$3.20
¥498
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.21
CN¥29.67
|
$4.01
¥624
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.84
CN¥408.00
|
$55.73
¥8,680
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.41
CN¥59.34
|
$12.70
¥1,978
|
|
Beijing vs. Kyoto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.7% less for clothing
|
Beijing
|
Kyoto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$62.30
CN¥439.49
|
$44.33
¥6,904
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$36.37
CN¥256.59
|
$30.91
¥4,814
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.74
CN¥576.64
|
$50.12
¥7,806
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.53
CN¥744.46
|
$88.54
¥13,791
|
|
Beijing vs. Kyoto - 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: December 2025
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