Cost of living comparison

compared to

Madagascar vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Madagascar is 1.7% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 35.6% more in Madagascar
Groceries: pay 18.9% less in Madagascar
Transportation: pay 82.0% more in Madagascar
Housing: pay 55.5% more in Madagascar
Childcare: pay 78.2% less in Madagascar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.3% less in Madagascar
Clothing: pay 45.5% less in Madagascar

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

Madagascar vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.6% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Madagascar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$3.04 MGA13,451	-27.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.62	$4.73 MGA20,920	-3.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.38	$0.82 MGA3,626	+70.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.62 MGA2,753	+102.8%
Average			+35.6%

Beijing vs. Madagascar - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.9% less for groceries

	Beijing	Madagascar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.04	$0.88 MGA3,877	-48.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.69	$5.36 MGA23,715	-28.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.85	$3.89 MGA17,199	-41.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.53	$1.97 MGA8,716	+10.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.80	$2.63 MGA11,653	+72.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.93	$0.64 MGA2,835	-34.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.43	$0.33 MGA1,469	-56.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.65	$0.57 MGA2,503	-29.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.25	$0.41 MGA1,808	-32.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.29 MGA1,268	-17.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.91	$0.40 MGA1,790	-1.9%
Average			-18.9%

Beijing vs. Madagascar - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 82.0% more for transportation

	Beijing	Madagascar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.71	$4.44 MGA19,637	+5.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥222.53	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,572.93	$12,651.72 MGA55,957,976	-30.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.64	$17.17 MGA75,943	+271.1%
Average			+82.0%

Beijing vs. Madagascar - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.5% more for housing

	Beijing	Madagascar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.22	$60.23 MGA266,414	+365.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,597.60	$257.49 MGA1,138,873	-72.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,558.33	$71.69 MGA317,091	-85.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.00	$44.95 MGA198,795	+14.5%
Average			+55.5%

Beijing vs. Madagascar - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 78.2% less for childcare

	Beijing	Madagascar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,014.09	$46.54 MGA205,845	-93.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥163,965.81	$8,634.52 MGA38,190,069	-62.9%
Average			-78.2%

Beijing vs. Madagascar - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Madagascar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.91	$0.82 MGA3,611	-27.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.47	$1.33 MGA5,880	-54.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$1.73 MGA7,669	-58.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.00	$29.94 MGA132,435	-48.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.34	$6.47 MGA28,632	-23.0%
Average			-42.3%

Beijing vs. Madagascar - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.5% less for clothing

	Beijing	Madagascar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥439.49	$19.48 MGA86,145	-68.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥256.59	$17.20 MGA76,096	-52.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥576.64	$70.84 MGA313,320	-13.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥744.46	$55.48 MGA245,375	-47.4%
Average			-45.5%

Beijing vs. Madagascar - 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.

Ottawa

Beijing vs.

Algiers

Beijing vs.

Berlin

Beijing vs.

Paris

Beijing vs.

Reykjavik

Beijing vs.

London

Beijing vs.

Cairo

Beijing vs.

Phnom Penh

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Madagascar

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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