Cost of living comparison

Brazil

compared to

China

China vs. Brazil Cost of Living Summary

China is 14.4% cheaper than Brazil overall.

Restaurants: pay 48.2% less in China
Groceries: pay 5.7% less in China
Transportation: pay 29.0% less in China
Housing: pay 14.3% less in China
Childcare: pay 90.3% more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.6% more in China
Clothing: pay 13.9% less in China

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

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

China vs. Brazil Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Brazil, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 48.2% less for restaurants

	Brazil	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.38 R$31.81	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-52.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.64 R$38.11	$5.16 CN¥34.53	-32.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.24 R$6.20	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-59.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 R$3.71	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-60.4%
Average			-48.2%

Brazil vs. China - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.7% less for groceries

	Brazil	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.68 R$8.39	$1.66 CN¥11.09	-1.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.73 R$23.59	$6.71 CN¥44.89	+41.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.09 R$20.41	$6.65 CN¥44.54	+62.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.26 R$11.29	$1.57 CN¥10.48	-30.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 R$9.66	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-21.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 R$4.93	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-16.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.61 R$3.03	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-3.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.54 R$2.70	$0.67 CN¥4.46	+23.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 R$3.45	$0.58 CN¥3.90	-15.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 R$2.65	$0.33 CN¥2.19	-38.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 R$2.43	$0.40 CN¥2.67	-18.0%
Average			-5.7%

Brazil vs. China - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.0% less for transportation

	Brazil	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.74 R$23.62	$4.77 CN¥31.93	+0.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$45.86 R$228.70	$20.77 CN¥139.03	-54.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,586.89 R$118K	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-20.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.39 R$46.83	$4.24 CN¥28.40	-54.8%
Average			-29.0%

Brazil vs. China - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.3% less for housing

	Brazil	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.44 R$101.93	$11.27 CN¥75.44	-44.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$357.22 R$1,781.55	$336.09 CN¥2,249.38	-5.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$237.92 R$1,186.55	$212.64 CN¥1,423.15	-10.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.99 R$309.18	$42.92 CN¥287.23	-30.8%
Average			-14.3%

Brazil vs. China - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 90.3% more for childcare

	Brazil	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$316.73 R$1,579.61	$500.54 CN¥3,349.94	+58.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,251.15 R$41,150.54	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+129.2%
Average			+90.3%

Brazil vs. China - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Brazil	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 R$9.97	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-43.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.02 R$10.08	$2.84 CN¥19.01	+40.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.46 R$12.26	$3.71 CN¥24.80	+50.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.59 R$132.59	$41.75 CN¥279.45	+57.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.17 R$35.76	$6.28 CN¥42.01	-12.5%
Average			+7.6%

Brazil vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.9% less for clothing

	Brazil	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.36 R$271.10	$46.40 CN¥310.51	-14.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.01 R$249.39	$33.97 CN¥227.36	-32.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.76 R$437.68	$73.79 CN¥493.86	-15.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.90 R$348.59	$78.93 CN¥528.25	+12.9%
Average			-13.9%

Brazil vs. China - 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: Brazil vs. China

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in China?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Make 29.4% more money in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Brazil is around the same size as China.

Moving from Brazil to China · UN DESA 2020

57,602 people born in Brazil live in China.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Rio De Janeiro vs Beijing

More cost comparisons

Brazil vs.

United States

Brazil vs.

Argentina

Brazil vs.

India

Brazil vs.

Japan

Brazil vs.

Portugal

Brazil vs.

Italy

Brazil vs.

Spain

Brazil vs.

Paraguay

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Brasilia vs. Beijing

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 Brazil

Add prices for China

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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