Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Japan

Sendai vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Sendai is 17.0% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 79.8% more in Sendai
Groceries: pay 86.8% more in Sendai
Transportation: pay 8.3% less in Sendai
Housing: pay 51.8% more in Sendai
Childcare: pay 74.8% less in Sendai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.9% more in Sendai
Clothing: pay 38.2% less in Sendai

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

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Sendai vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 79.8% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Sendai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥30.00	$6.33 ¥999	+41.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥35.00	$4.59 ¥724	-12.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.50	$0.98 ¥155	+87.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.83	$0.82 ¥130	+202.0%
Average			+79.8%

Beijing vs. Sendai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 86.8% more for groceries

	Beijing	Sendai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.58	$1.48 ¥233	-14.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.38	$5.38 ¥849	-25.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.97	$5.43 ¥857	-15.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.56	$2.08 ¥328	+2.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.83	$5.34 ¥842	+264.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.26	$1.59 ¥251	+70.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.29	$0.98 ¥154	+23.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.22	$2.08 ¥328	+124.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$1.44 ¥228	+103.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$1.15 ¥181	+257.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$1.05 ¥166	+165.1%
Average			+86.8%

Beijing vs. Sendai - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.3% less for transportation

	Beijing	Sendai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.27	$4.11 ¥648	-17.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥230.01	$37.96 ¥5,991	+10.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$15,816.38 ¥2M	-18.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.40	??
Average			-8.3%

Beijing vs. Sendai - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.8% more for housing

	Beijing	Sendai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.67	$35.26 ¥5,565	+147.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,280.28	$569.39 ¥89,870	-39.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,560.16	$332.14 ¥52,424	-37.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥298.28	$105.23 ¥16,608	+136.5%
Average			+51.8%

Beijing vs. Sendai - Cost of housing

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pay 74.8% less for childcare

	Beijing	Sendai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,380.22	$227.76 ¥35,948	-65.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$3,795.93 ¥599K	-84.4%
Average			-74.8%

Beijing vs. Sendai - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Sendai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥8.00	$1.90 ¥300	+59.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.14	$3.69 ¥583	+2.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥29.00	$4.43 ¥699	+2.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.90	$45.55 ¥7,190	+9.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥50.00	$10.12 ¥1,598	+35.7%
Average			+21.9%

Beijing vs. Sendai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.2% less for clothing

	Beijing	Sendai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥473.02	$56.94 ¥8,987	-19.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.93	$33.74 ¥5,326	-16.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥583.23	$35.01 ¥5,525	-59.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥840.79	$53.78 ¥8,488	-57.1%
Average			-38.2%

Beijing vs. Sendai - 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: October 2026

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