Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Sweden

Malmo vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Malmo is 57.0% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 3.5 times more in Malmo
Groceries: pay 71.6% more in Malmo
Transportation: pay 79.7% more in Malmo
Housing: pay 49.2% more in Malmo
Childcare: pay 81.0% less in Malmo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.0 times more in Malmo
Clothing: pay 25.4% more in Malmo

The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, housing, and clothing in Malmo are more expensive than in Beijing. Notably, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Malmo.

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Malmo vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.5 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Malmo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.95	$15.00 SEK149.95	+235.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.94	$12.00 SEK119.96	+129.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$3.38 SEK33.82	+547.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$2.64 SEK26.39	+869.0%
Average			+248.8%

Beijing vs. Malmo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 71.6% more for groceries

	Beijing	Malmo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$2.89 SEK28.89	+67.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.29	$6.44 SEK64.36	-10.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.89	$6.40 SEK63.95	-0.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$4.06 SEK40.60	+100.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$5.43 SEK54.33	+270.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$1.35 SEK13.52	+44.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$1.15 SEK11.51	+45.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$1.37 SEK13.68	+47.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$1.95 SEK19.45	+173.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$0.75 SEK7.49	+133.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.68 SEK6.82	+71.8%
Average			+71.6%

Beijing vs. Malmo - Cost of groceries

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pay 79.7% more for transportation

	Beijing	Malmo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$6.65 SEK66.52	+34.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.59	$63.38 SEK633.77	+84.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$32,980.57 SEK330K	+70.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$25.79 SEK257.91	+450.7%
Average			+79.7%

Beijing vs. Malmo - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.2% more for housing

	Beijing	Malmo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.50	$36.88 SEK368.82	+158.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,268.85	$1,058.59 SEK10,585.01	+13.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,553.68	$818.37 SEK8,183.00	+54.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.74	$106.12 SEK1,061.10	+138.5%
Average			+49.2%

Beijing vs. Malmo - Cost of housing

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pay 81.0% less for childcare

	Beijing	Malmo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,372.25	$169.95 SEK1,699.38	-74.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$3,379.03 SEK33,787.63	-86.1%
Average			-81.0%

Beijing vs. Malmo - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Malmo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.99	$8.50 SEK84.97	+612.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$4.85 SEK48.53	+34.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.95	$7.90 SEK78.97	+82.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.40	$40.28 SEK402.74	-2.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.91	$17.40 SEK173.94	+133.3%
Average			+104.9%

Beijing vs. Malmo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.4% more for clothing

	Beijing	Malmo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.16	$99.89 SEK998.85	+41.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.44	$45.09 SEK450.88	+11.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.17	$111.08 SEK1,110.66	+27.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.26	$153.83 SEK1,538.21	+22.7%
Average			+25.4%

Beijing vs. Malmo - 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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