Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

El Salvador

San Salvador vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 24.8% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 61.3% more in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 66.1% more in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 30.9% more in San Salvador
Housing: pay 36.0% more in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 78.0% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.3% less in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 8.9% more in San Salvador

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

Planning a move to El Salvador? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

San Salvador vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 61.3% more for restaurants

	Beijing	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$6.75 SVC59.06	+50.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$7.00 SVC61.25	+34.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$1.14 SVC10.01	+119.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$0.83 SVC7.29	+206.0%
Average			+61.3%

Beijing vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 66.1% more for groceries

	Beijing	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$2.85 SVC24.94	+65.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.28	$3.85 SVC33.72	-46.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.88	$6.95 SVC60.81	+8.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$3.02 SVC26.39	+49.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$3.16 SVC27.66	+115.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$2.29 SVC20.07	+145.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$0.63 SVC5.54	-19.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$1.18 SVC10.35	+27.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.75	$1.56 SVC13.68	+120.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$1.33 SVC11.65	+314.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$1.49 SVC13.05	+275.7%
Average			+66.1%

Beijing vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.9% more for transportation

	Beijing	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$4.75 SVC41.60	-4.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.53	$37.50 SVC328.13	+9.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$25,000.00 SVC219K	+29.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$30.00 SVC262.50	+540.6%
Average			+30.9%

Beijing vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.0% more for housing

	Beijing	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.47	$42.50 SVC371.88	+197.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	-4.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	+45.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.65	$99.35 SVC869.35	+123.3%
Average			+36.0%

Beijing vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 78.0% less for childcare

	Beijing	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	-75.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	-80.6%
Average			-78.0%

Beijing vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.00 SVC17.50	+67.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$3.55 SVC31.02	-1.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.94	$4.00 SVC35.00	-7.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.32	$31.60 SVC276.50	-23.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.90	$5.00 SVC43.75	-33.0%
Average			-7.3%

Beijing vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.9% more for clothing

	Beijing	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.03	$67.15 SVC587.57	-4.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.36	$47.00 SVC411.25	+16.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.00	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	+36.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.02	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	-6.7%
Average			+8.9%

Beijing vs. San Salvador - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Beijing vs. San Salvador

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in San Salvador?

More cost comparisons

Beijing vs.

Shanghai

Beijing vs.

London

Beijing vs.

Madrid

Beijing vs.

Athens

Beijing vs.

Rome

Beijing vs.

Ankara

Beijing vs.

Moscow

Beijing vs.

Washington

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 San Salvador

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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