Cost of living comparison

compared to

Medan vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Medan is 20.9% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 31.7% less in Medan
Groceries: pay 15.9% less in Medan
Transportation: pay 25.3% less in Medan
Housing: pay 12.2% more in Medan
Childcare: pay 69.0% less in Medan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.1% less in Medan
Clothing: pay 17.2% more in Medan

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

Medan vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.7% less for restaurants

	Beijing	Medan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.76	$1.79 IDR29,811.16	-57.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.72	$3.13 IDR52,169.52	-36.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$0.40 IDR6,707.51	-16.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.25 IDR4,223.25	-17.4%
Average			-31.7%

Beijing vs. Medan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.9% less for groceries

	Beijing	Medan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$1.12 IDR18,631.97	-34.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.84	$4.66 IDR77,509.01	-37.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.99	$4.43 IDR73,821.09	-33.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.57	$1.49 IDR24,842.63	-16.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$1.68 IDR27,945.73	+9.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$1.00 IDR16,677.29	+1.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.45 IDR7,512.29	-41.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$0.66 IDR10,967.95	-17.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.40 IDR6,685.94	-33.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.47	$0.32 IDR5,258.61	-9.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.56 IDR9,390.37	+36.7%
Average			-15.9%

Beijing vs. Medan - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.3% less for transportation

	Beijing	Medan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.80	$3.10 IDR51,558.78	-26.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.19	$9.55 IDR158,992.83	-69.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,952.02	$26,860.37 IDR447,167,346.37	+47.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.73	$2.21 IDR36,767.09	-52.3%
Average			-25.3%

Beijing vs. Medan - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.2% more for housing

	Beijing	Medan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.49	$32.81 IDR546,289.44	+153.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,617.06	$189.02 IDR3,146,733.51	-79.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,568.82	$95.50 IDR1,589,928.34	-81.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.81	$61.15 IDR1,018,014.34	+55.7%
Average			+12.2%

Beijing vs. Medan - Cost of housing

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pay 69.0% less for childcare

	Beijing	Medan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,028.87	$121.37 IDR2,020,533.94	-82.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,449.26	$10,445.70 IDR173,898,412.48	-55.1%
Average			-69.0%

Beijing vs. Medan - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Medan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.94	$1.49 IDR24,842.63	+33.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.53	$1.72 IDR28,569.02	-40.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.76	$2.39 IDR39,748.21	-43.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥409.21	$22.88 IDR380,920.33	-60.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.52	$3.43 IDR57,138.05	-59.2%
Average			-34.1%

Beijing vs. Medan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.2% more for clothing

	Beijing	Medan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.79	$63.65 IDR1,059,620.99	+2.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.35	$41.78 IDR695,593.65	+14.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥578.34	$113.41 IDR1,888,039.91	+38.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.66	$119.38 IDR1,987,410.43	+13.1%
Average			+17.2%

Beijing vs. Medan - 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: December 2025

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