Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Mecca vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Mecca is 29.1% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 13.7% more in Mecca
Groceries: pay 13.2% more in Mecca
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Mecca
Housing: pay 66.2% more in Mecca
Childcare: pay 7.9% less in Mecca
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.1% more in Mecca
Clothing: pay 37.9% less in Mecca

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

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Mecca vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 13.7% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Mecca
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥30.00	$4.53 SAR16.96	+1.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥35.00	$6.93 SAR25.94	+32.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.50	$0.69 SAR2.59	+32.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.83	$0.24 SAR0.90	-11.9%
Average			+13.7%

Beijing vs. Mecca - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.2% more for groceries

	Beijing	Mecca
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.58	$0.98 SAR3.66	-43.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.38	$2.98 SAR11.14	-58.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.97	$6.49 SAR24.31	+1.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.56	$2.46 SAR9.21	+21.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.83	$3.71 SAR13.89	+153.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.26	$0.93 SAR3.47	-0.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.29	$0.73 SAR2.71	-8.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.22	$0.71 SAR2.67	-23.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$0.68 SAR2.56	-3.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$0.52 SAR1.95	+61.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.58 SAR2.16	+45.5%
Average			+13.2%

Beijing vs. Mecca - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Beijing	Mecca
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.27	$2.35 SAR8.80	-52.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥230.01	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$47,965.95 SAR180K	+147.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.40	$16.26 SAR60.85	+247.1%
Average			+114.0%

Beijing vs. Mecca - Cost of transportation

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pay 66.2% more for housing

	Beijing	Mecca
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.67	$62.84 SAR235.24	+340.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,280.28	$524.96 SAR1,965.08	-44.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,560.16	$286.20 SAR1,071.32	-46.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥298.28	$50.94 SAR190.70	+14.5%
Average			+66.2%

Beijing vs. Mecca - Cost of housing

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pay 7.9% less for childcare

	Beijing	Mecca
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,380.22	$760.49 SAR2,846.74	+16.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$16,442.55 SAR61,549.23	-32.3%
Average			-7.9%

Beijing vs. Mecca - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Mecca
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥8.00	$1.53 SAR5.74	+28.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.14	$2.60 SAR9.72	-27.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥29.00	$6.66 SAR24.94	+54.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.90	$81.01 SAR303.24	+95.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥50.00	$11.99 SAR44.89	+60.8%
Average			+42.1%

Beijing vs. Mecca - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.9% less for clothing

	Beijing	Mecca
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥473.02	$13.32 SAR49.88	-81.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.93	$57.02 SAR213.46	+41.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥583.23	$39.97 SAR149.63	-54.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥840.79	$53.30 SAR199.50	-57.5%
Average			-37.9%

Beijing vs. Mecca - Cost of clothing

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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: October 2026

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