Cost of living comparison

compared to

Potchefstroom vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Potchefstroom is 5.2% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 73.7% more in Potchefstroom
Groceries: pay 5.0% less in Potchefstroom
Transportation: pay 41.4% more in Potchefstroom
Housing: pay 54.9% more in Potchefstroom
Childcare: pay 83.5% less in Potchefstroom
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.9% less in Potchefstroom
Clothing: pay 35.1% less in Potchefstroom

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

Potchefstroom vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 73.7% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Potchefstroom
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$6.31 ZAR106.76	+50.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$4.73 ZAR80.07	-3.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$1.08 ZAR18.21	+124.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.69 ZAR11.65	+124.2%
Average			+73.7%

Beijing vs. Potchefstroom - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.0% less for groceries

	Beijing	Potchefstroom
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$1.06 ZAR17.88	-38.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$3.66 ZAR61.87	-51.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$4.20 ZAR71.01	-36.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.29 ZAR38.82	+29.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$1.95 ZAR33.02	+27.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$0.65 ZAR11.01	-33.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.65 ZAR11.01	-15.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$0.75 ZAR12.63	-6.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.52 ZAR8.80	-13.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.59 ZAR10.04	+70.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.47 ZAR7.92	+13.5%
Average			-5.0%

Beijing vs. Potchefstroom - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.4% more for transportation

	Beijing	Potchefstroom
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$4.77 ZAR80.69	+13.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$20,068.12 ZAR339,679.08	+10.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$9.29 ZAR157.22	+100.8%
Average			+41.4%

Beijing vs. Potchefstroom - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.9% more for housing

	Beijing	Potchefstroom
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$36.58 ZAR619.19	+182.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$267.57 ZAR4,529.05	-71.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$305.80 ZAR5,176.06	-39.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$97.15 ZAR1,644.34	+147.4%
Average			+54.9%

Beijing vs. Potchefstroom - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 83.5% less for childcare

	Beijing	Potchefstroom
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$117.54 ZAR1,989.55	-83.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$3,804.34 ZAR64,393.45	-83.6%
Average			-83.5%

Beijing vs. Potchefstroom - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Potchefstroom
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$2.29 ZAR38.82	+104.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$1.69 ZAR28.63	-41.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$2.87 ZAR48.53	-31.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$29.62 ZAR501.43	-48.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$5.73 ZAR97.05	-31.8%
Average			-9.9%

Beijing vs. Potchefstroom - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.1% less for clothing

	Beijing	Potchefstroom
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$25.80 ZAR436.73	-58.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$20.07 ZAR339.68	-44.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$82.18 ZAR1,391.07	+0.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$65.94 ZAR1,116.09	-37.5%
Average			-35.1%

Beijing vs. Potchefstroom - 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.

Manila

Beijing vs.

Wellington

Beijing vs.

Lima

Beijing vs.

Prague

Beijing vs.

Nairobi

Beijing vs.

Dodoma

Beijing vs.

Phnom Penh

Beijing vs.

Ankara

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Potchefstroom

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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