Cost of living comparison

Brunei

compared to

China

China vs. Brunei Cost of Living Summary

China is 30.0% cheaper than Brunei overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.4% less in China
Groceries: pay 43.8% less in China
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in China
Housing: pay 55.7% less in China
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.3% less in China
Clothing: pay 39.6% less in China

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

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China vs. Brunei Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.4% less for restaurants

	Brunei	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.86 BND7.51	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-48.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.92 BND8.86	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-25.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 BND1.18	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-45.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 BND0.66	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-42.8%
Average			-40.4%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.8% less for groceries

	Brunei	China
Bread 1 loaf	$2.10 BND2.68	$1.66 CN¥11.09	-20.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.08 BND9.06	$6.71 CN¥44.88	-5.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.05 BND9.03	$6.65 CN¥44.53	-5.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.35 BND3.01	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-33.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.23 BND4.13	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-53.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.79 BND2.29	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-53.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 BND1.27	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-40.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.78 BND2.28	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-62.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 BND1.48	$0.58 CN¥3.90	-49.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 BND0.99	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-57.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.11 BND1.42	$0.40 CN¥2.67	-63.9%
Average			-43.8%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Brunei	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.47 BND1.89	$4.77 CN¥31.92	+224.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$0.78 BND1.00	$20.77 CN¥138.99	+2559.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,115.17 BND47,549.96	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-49.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.47 BND39.04	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-86.1%
Average			+129.6%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 55.7% less for housing

	Brunei	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.11 BND83.42	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-82.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$731.42 BND937.05	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	-54.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$627.34 BND803.71	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	-66.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.39 BND49.18	$42.92 CN¥287.14	+11.8%
Average			-55.7%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Brunei	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.82 BND277.78	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+130.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,524.22 BND12,201.92	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+98.5%
Average			+114.1%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Brunei	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 BND2.50	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-42.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.22 BND5.40	$2.84 CN¥19.00	-32.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.72 BND15.01	$3.71 CN¥24.79	-68.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$71.62 BND91.75	$41.75 CN¥279.37	-41.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.47 BND7.01	$6.28 CN¥41.99	+14.8%
Average			-33.3%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.6% less for clothing

	Brunei	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$76.18 BND97.60	$46.40 CN¥310.43	-39.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$97.53 BND124.95	$33.97 CN¥227.29	-65.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$128.15 BND164.18	$73.79 CN¥493.72	-42.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.27 BND92.59	$78.93 CN¥528.10	+9.2%
Average			-39.6%

Brunei vs. China - Cost of clothing

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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: Brunei vs. China

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in China?

Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics

Make 57.0% less money in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Brunei is about 1,665 times smaller than China.

Moving from Brunei to China · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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