Cost of living comparison

compared to

Tehran vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Tehran is 25.1% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 52.8% more in Tehran
Groceries: pay 45.6% less in Tehran
Transportation: pay 30.2% more in Tehran
Housing: pay 53.2% less in Tehran
Childcare: pay 86.9% less in Tehran
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.9% less in Tehran
Clothing: pay 16.2% less in Tehran

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

Tehran vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 52.8% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Tehran
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥28.96	$3.80 IRR5M	-9.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥33.79	$4.50 IRR6M	-8.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.30	$0.47 IRR619K	-2.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.11	$1.02 IRR1M	+231.3%
Average			+52.8%

Beijing vs. Tehran - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.6% less for groceries

	Beijing	Tehran
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥11.75	$0.54 IRR706K	-68.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥51.43	$1.89 IRR2M	-74.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥45.74	$2.35 IRR3M	-64.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.23	$1.11 IRR1M	-37.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.55	$1.41 IRR2M	-7.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.77	$0.41 IRR538K	-58.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.30	$0.68 IRR897K	-11.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.51	$0.38 IRR501K	-52.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.15	$0.29 IRR377K	-52.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.40	$0.24 IRR320K	-30.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.84	$0.23 IRR303K	-44.2%
Average			-45.6%

Beijing vs. Tehran - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.2% more for transportation

	Beijing	Tehran
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.00	$2.75 IRR4M	-34.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥217.23	$6.55 IRR9M	-79.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥126K	$68,000.00 IRR89B	+273.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥31.86	$2.85 IRR4M	-38.4%
Average			+30.2%

Beijing vs. Tehran - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 53.2% less for housing

	Beijing	Tehran
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥89.05	$5.76 IRR8M	-55.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,440.39	$450.54 IRR593M	-51.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,473.54	$321.19 IRR423M	-36.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥270.40	$12.05 IRR16M	-69.3%
Average			-53.2%

Beijing vs. Tehran - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 86.9% less for childcare

	Beijing	Tehran
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥4,894.61	$123.82 IRR163M	-82.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥160K	$2,011.10 IRR3B	-91.3%
Average			-86.9%

Beijing vs. Tehran - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Tehran
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.72	$0.65 IRR855K	-42.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥19.98	$1.23 IRR2M	-57.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥28.96	$2.50 IRR3M	-40.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥398.28	$21.91 IRR29M	-62.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥57.93	$1.50 IRR2M	-82.2%
Average			-56.9%

Beijing vs. Tehran - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.2% less for clothing

	Beijing	Tehran
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥429.02	$25.24 IRR33M	-59.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥250.48	$30.76 IRR40M	-15.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥562.90	$117.65 IRR155M	+43.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥726.72	$69.84 IRR92M	-33.8%
Average			-16.2%

Beijing vs. Tehran - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2026

More cost comparisons

Beijing vs.

Algiers

Beijing vs.

Ottawa

Beijing vs.

Reykjavik

Beijing vs.

Dodoma

Beijing vs.

Lima

Beijing vs.

Warsaw

Beijing vs.

Madrid

Beijing vs.

Bangkok

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Tehran

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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