Cost of living comparison

compared to

Suzhou vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Suzhou is 20.7% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Suzhou
Groceries: pay 10.1% more in Suzhou
Transportation: pay 13.1% more in Suzhou
Housing: pay 5.1% less in Suzhou
Childcare: pay 12.1% less in Suzhou
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.9% more in Suzhou
Clothing: pay 11.9% less in Suzhou

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

Suzhou vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Suzhou
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.07	$4.21 CN¥29.07
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥33.92	$4.91 CN¥33.92
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.32	$1.07 CN¥7.43	+124.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.12	$0.61 CN¥4.20	+97.9%
Average			+111.0%

Beijing vs. Suzhou - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.1% more for groceries

	Beijing	Suzhou
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥11.80	$2.46 CN¥17.02	+44.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥51.62	$10.45 CN¥72.22	+39.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥45.91	$8.64 CN¥59.74	+30.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.28	$1.90 CN¥13.11	+6.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.58	$1.67 CN¥11.54	+9.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.79	$0.90 CN¥6.23	-8.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.32	$0.64 CN¥4.40	-17.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.53	$0.71 CN¥4.92	-11.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.16	$0.61 CN¥4.22	+1.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.41	$0.31 CN¥2.11	-12.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.85	$0.53 CN¥3.65	+28.1%
Average			+10.1%

Beijing vs. Suzhou - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.1% more for transportation

	Beijing	Suzhou
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.11	$4.43 CN¥30.64	+5.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥218.03	$42.06 CN¥290.71	+33.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥126K	$21,029.61 CN¥145K	+15.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥31.98	$4.56 CN¥31.49	-1.5%
Average			+13.1%

Beijing vs. Suzhou - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.1% less for housing

	Beijing	Suzhou
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥89.38	$12.31 CN¥85.11	-4.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,464.19	$399.56 CN¥2,761.72	-57.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,486.38	$179.45 CN¥1,240.35	-64.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥271.40	$80.90 CN¥559.18	+106.0%
Average			-5.1%

Beijing vs. Suzhou - Cost of housing

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pay 12.1% less for childcare

	Beijing	Suzhou
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥4,912.70	$782.77 CN¥5,410.38	+10.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥161K	$15,304.88 CN¥106K	-34.2%
Average			-12.1%

Beijing vs. Suzhou - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Suzhou
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.75	$2.80 CN¥19.38	+150.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.06	$3.66 CN¥25.30	+26.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.07	$4.21 CN¥29.07
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥399.75	$57.95 CN¥400.53	+0.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥58.14	$7.01 CN¥48.45	-16.7%
Average			+39.9%

Beijing vs. Suzhou - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.9% less for clothing

	Beijing	Suzhou
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥430.60	$49.98 CN¥345.46	-19.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥251.40	$37.83 CN¥261.44	+4.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥564.98	$72.44 CN¥500.66	-11.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥729.41	$84.12 CN¥581.41	-20.3%
Average			-11.9%

Beijing vs. Suzhou - 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: April 2026

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