Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Africa

Somerset West vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Somerset West is 21.8% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Somerset West
Groceries: pay 11.7% more in Somerset West
Transportation: pay 75.3% more in Somerset West
Housing: pay 42.7% more in Somerset West
Childcare: pay 73.0% less in Somerset West
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.5% more in Somerset West
Clothing: pay 38.3% less in Somerset West

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

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Somerset West vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Somerset West instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Somerset West
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥30.00	$12.02 ZAR200.15	+168.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥35.00	$5.41 ZAR90.07	+3.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.50	$1.05 ZAR17.51	+101.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.83	$0.87 ZAR14.51	+219.9%
Average			+123.4%

Beijing vs. Somerset West - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.7% more for groceries

	Beijing	Somerset West
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.58	$1.01 ZAR16.84	-41.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.38	$4.21 ZAR70.05	-41.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.97	$3.70 ZAR61.56	-42.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.56	$2.30 ZAR38.28	+13.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.83	$2.35 ZAR39.19	+60.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.26	$0.85 ZAR14.13	-9.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.29	$0.87 ZAR14.49	+10.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.22	$0.77 ZAR12.84	-16.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$0.76 ZAR12.71	+7.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$0.70 ZAR11.62	+117.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.68 ZAR11.35	+71.6%
Average			+11.7%

Beijing vs. Somerset West - Cost of groceries

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pay 75.3% more for transportation

	Beijing	Somerset West
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.27	$5.44 ZAR90.64	+9.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥230.01	$59.79 ZAR995.77	+74.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$28,677.08 ZAR478K	+48.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.40	$12.62 ZAR210.16	+169.4%
Average			+75.3%

Beijing vs. Somerset West - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.7% more for housing

	Beijing	Somerset West
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.67	$39.98 ZAR665.83	+180.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,280.28	$640.94 ZAR10,674.93	-31.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,560.16	$420.62 ZAR7,005.42	-20.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥298.28	$63.62 ZAR1,059.64	+43.0%
Average			+42.7%

Beijing vs. Somerset West - Cost of housing

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pay 73.0% less for childcare

	Beijing	Somerset West
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,380.22	$255.37 ZAR4,253.29	-60.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$3,605.29 ZAR60,046.48	-85.2%
Average			-73.0%

Beijing vs. Somerset West - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Somerset West
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥8.00	$2.55 ZAR42.53	+114.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.14	$2.10 ZAR35.03	-41.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥29.00	$3.30 ZAR55.04	-23.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.90	$44.32 ZAR738.07	+6.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥50.00	$7.21 ZAR120.09	-3.3%
Average			+10.5%

Beijing vs. Somerset West - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.3% less for clothing

	Beijing	Somerset West
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥473.02	$31.05 ZAR517.07	-56.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.93	$31.05 ZAR517.07	-23.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥583.23	$70.10 ZAR1,167.57	-19.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥840.79	$57.08 ZAR950.74	-54.5%
Average			-38.3%

Beijing vs. Somerset West - 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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