Cost of living comparison

compared to

China vs. Brunei Cost of Living Summary

China is 13.0% cheaper than Brunei overall.

Restaurants: pay 37.4% less in China
Groceries: pay 43.8% less in China
Transportation: pay 27.2% more in China
Housing: pay 54.0% less in China
Childcare: pay 87.0% more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.7% less in China
Clothing: pay 35.4% less in China

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

China vs. Brunei Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 37.4% less for restaurants

	Brunei	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.68 BND4.76	$2.90 CN¥20.50	-21.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.87 BND8.90	$5.02 CN¥35.49	-27.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 BND1.26	$0.47 CN¥3.36	-51.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 BND0.72	$0.28 CN¥1.96	-50.1%
Average			-37.4%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.8% less for groceries

	Brunei	China
Bread 1 loaf	$2.09 BND2.71	$1.63 CN¥11.52	-22.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.49 BND8.42	$6.32 CN¥44.71	-2.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.83 BND8.86	$6.70 CN¥47.44	-1.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.44 BND3.16	$1.56 CN¥11.05	-35.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.19 BND4.14	$1.52 CN¥10.78	-52.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.73 BND2.24	$0.74 CN¥5.25	-57.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.98 BND1.27	$0.55 CN¥3.86	-44.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.54 BND2.00	$0.62 CN¥4.41	-59.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.94 BND2.52	$0.50 CN¥3.57	-74.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.05 BND1.36	$0.30 CN¥2.13	-71.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 BND1.31	$0.39 CN¥2.79	-60.9%
Average			-43.8%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.2% more for transportation

	Brunei	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.43 BND1.85	$4.34 CN¥30.68	+204.1%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$20.32 CN¥143.78
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,557.48 BND39,619.20	$19,143.98 CN¥135,449.43	-37.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.30 BND34.10	$3.94 CN¥27.89	-85.0%
Average			+27.2%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 54.0% less for housing

	Brunei	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.09 BND88.28	$11.18 CN¥79.08	-83.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$727.22 BND942.87	$304.90 CN¥2,157.22	-58.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$612.39 BND793.99	$195.65 CN¥1,384.25	-68.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.74 BND56.71	$41.04 CN¥290.39	-6.2%
Average			-54.0%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 87.0% more for childcare

	Brunei	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$156.63 BND203.08	$390.25 CN¥2,761.13	+149.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,411.76 BND16,092.43	$15,493.57 CN¥109,621.66	+24.8%
Average			+87.0%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Brunei	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.93 BND2.51	$1.04 CN¥7.37	-46.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 BND5.31	$2.84 CN¥20.07	-30.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.60 BND15.04	$3.36 CN¥23.77	-71.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.15 BND83.17	$41.13 CN¥290.99	-35.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.41 BND7.02	$5.98 CN¥42.33	+10.5%
Average			-34.7%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 35.4% less for clothing

	Brunei	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$96.72 BND125.40	$45.93 CN¥324.95	-52.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$84.22 BND109.19	$30.93 CN¥218.85	-63.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.87 BND154.11	$71.26 CN¥504.18	-40.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$63.82 BND82.75	$72.88 CN¥515.65	+14.2%
Average			-35.4%

Brunei vs. China - 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: December 2025

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