Cost of living comparison

compared to

Richards Bay vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Richards Bay is 9.3% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 76.6% more in Richards Bay
Groceries: pay 6.1% less in Richards Bay
Transportation: pay 66.0% more in Richards Bay
Housing: pay 59.5% more in Richards Bay
Childcare: pay 88.0% less in Richards Bay
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.5% less in Richards Bay
Clothing: pay 22.6% less in Richards Bay

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

Richards Bay vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Richards Bay instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 76.6% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Richards Bay
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$7.17 ZAR121.31	+70.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$5.16 ZAR87.35	+5.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$0.92 ZAR15.66	+92.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.73 ZAR12.36	+137.9%
Average			+76.6%

Beijing vs. Richards Bay - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.1% less for groceries

	Beijing	Richards Bay
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$0.94 ZAR15.86	-45.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$3.67 ZAR62.15	-50.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$3.64 ZAR61.54	-45.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.18 ZAR36.91	+22.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$2.10 ZAR35.51	+37.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$0.74 ZAR12.47	-25.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.66 ZAR11.20	-14.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$0.64 ZAR10.75	-20.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.63 ZAR10.66	+4.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.52 ZAR8.80	+49.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.49 ZAR8.36	+19.8%
Average			-6.1%

Beijing vs. Richards Bay - Cost of groceries

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pay 66.0% more for transportation

	Beijing	Richards Bay
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$5.04 ZAR85.27	+19.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	$97.47 ZAR1,649.87	+209.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$20,354.81 ZAR344,531.64	+11.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$5.73 ZAR97.05	+23.9%
Average			+66.0%

Beijing vs. Richards Bay - Cost of transportation

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pay 59.5% more for housing

	Beijing	Richards Bay
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$35.68 ZAR603.91	+175.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$401.36 ZAR6,793.58	-57.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$301.02 ZAR5,095.19	-40.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$101.94 ZAR1,725.51	+159.6%
Average			+59.5%

Beijing vs. Richards Bay - Cost of housing

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pay 88.0% less for childcare

	Beijing	Richards Bay
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$93.17 ZAR1,577.08	-86.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$2,537.18 ZAR42,945.14	-89.1%
Average			-88.0%

Beijing vs. Richards Bay - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Richards Bay
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$1.43 ZAR24.26	+27.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$2.00 ZAR33.92	-30.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$2.47 ZAR41.73	-41.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$32.97 ZAR558.04	-43.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$7.17 ZAR121.31	-14.8%
Average			-20.5%

Beijing vs. Richards Bay - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.6% less for clothing

	Beijing	Richards Bay
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$46.39 ZAR785.28	-25.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$19.30 ZAR326.74	-46.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$87.44 ZAR1,480.03	+7.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$79.31 ZAR1,342.46	-24.8%
Average			-22.6%

Beijing vs. Richards Bay - 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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