Cost of living comparison

compared to

Port Elizabeth vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Port Elizabeth is 24.6% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Port Elizabeth
Groceries: pay 9.3% more in Port Elizabeth
Transportation: pay 13.9% more in Port Elizabeth
Housing: pay 85.2% more in Port Elizabeth
Childcare: pay 77.4% less in Port Elizabeth
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.8% more in Port Elizabeth
Clothing: pay 6.1% more in Port Elizabeth

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

Port Elizabeth vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Port Elizabeth instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Port Elizabeth
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$10.80 ZAR182.86	+156.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$5.13 ZAR86.80	+4.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$1.13 ZAR19.18	+136.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.92 ZAR15.60	+200.3%
Average			+124.5%

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.3% more for groceries

	Beijing	Port Elizabeth
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$1.02 ZAR17.33	-40.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$3.95 ZAR66.86	-47.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$4.34 ZAR73.52	-34.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.86 ZAR48.47	+61.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$2.23 ZAR37.82	+45.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$0.79 ZAR13.44	-19.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.69 ZAR11.70	-10.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$0.72 ZAR12.16	-10.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.74 ZAR12.61	+23.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.72 ZAR12.25	+107.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.52 ZAR8.76	+25.4%
Average			+9.3%

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.9% more for transportation

	Beijing	Port Elizabeth
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$5.01 ZAR84.76	+18.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	$34.86 ZAR590.03	+10.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$16,075.49 ZAR272,098.61	-11.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$6.38 ZAR108.01	+37.9%
Average			+13.9%

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of transportation

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pay 85.2% more for housing

	Beijing	Port Elizabeth
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$45.80 ZAR775.17	+254.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$606.14 ZAR10,259.78	-35.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$455.18 ZAR7,704.58	-9.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$91.03 ZAR1,540.73	+131.8%
Average			+85.2%

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of housing

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pay 77.4% less for childcare

	Beijing	Port Elizabeth
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$169.97 ZAR2,877.03	-76.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$4,925.10 ZAR83,363.77	-78.8%
Average			-77.4%

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Port Elizabeth
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$2.62 ZAR44.37	+133.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$2.17 ZAR36.67	-25.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$3.08 ZAR52.18	-26.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$30.31 ZAR512.99	-47.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$10.08 ZAR170.67	+19.9%
Average			+10.8%

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.1% more for clothing

	Beijing	Port Elizabeth
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$67.99 ZAR1,150.81	+9.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$38.39 ZAR649.85	+5.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$99.87 ZAR1,690.46	+22.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$92.19 ZAR1,560.42	-12.6%
Average			+6.1%

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth - 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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