Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. China Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 3.2 times more expensive than China overall.
- Restaurants
- pay 5.0 times more in United Kingdom
- Groceries
- pay 81.7% more in United Kingdom
- Transportation
- pay 3.5 times more in United Kingdom
- Housing
- pay 4.8 times more in United Kingdom
- Childcare
- pay 2.6 times more in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
- pay 3.4 times more in United Kingdom
- Clothing
- pay 50.7% more in United Kingdom
United Kingdom vs. China Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of China, you would:
pay 5.0 times more for restaurants
China | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $2.90 CN¥19.69 | $20.41 £15.46 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $5.02 CN¥34.10 | $9.94 £7.53 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $0.47 CN¥3.22 | $2.32 £1.76 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $0.28 CN¥1.88 | $1.65 £1.25 | |
China vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 81.7% more for groceries
China | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $1.63 CN¥11.07 | $1.59 £1.21 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $6.32 CN¥42.96 | $4.71 £3.57 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $6.70 CN¥45.58 | $6.20 £4.70 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $1.56 CN¥10.62 | $3.87 £2.93 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $1.52 CN¥10.36 | $3.87 £2.93 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $0.74 CN¥5.05 | $1.32 £1.00 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.55 CN¥3.71 | $0.73 £0.55 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $0.62 CN¥4.24 | $1.28 £0.97 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $0.50 CN¥3.43 | $1.49 £1.13 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $0.30 CN¥2.04 | $0.72 £0.54 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.39 CN¥2.68 | $0.71 £0.54 | |
China vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 3.5 times more for transportation
China | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $4.34 CN¥29.48 | $7.22 £5.47 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $20.32 CN¥138.15 | $99.05 £75.03 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $19,143.98 CN¥130K | $36,224.29 £27,440.55 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $3.94 CN¥26.80 | $22.08 £16.73 | |
China vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 4.8 times more for housing
China | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $11.18 CN¥75.98 | $41.90 £31.74 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $304.90 CN¥2,072.74 | $1,285.79 £974.01 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $195.65 CN¥1,330.04 | $1,062.09 £804.55 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $41.04 CN¥279.02 | $233.57 £176.93 | |
China vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 2.6 times more for childcare
China | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $390.25 CN¥2,652.99 | $1,530.71 £1,159.54 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $15,493.57 CN¥105K | $19,375.12 £14,677.00 | |
China vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 3.4 times more for entertainment and sports
China | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $1.04 CN¥7.08 | $6.35 £4.81 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $2.84 CN¥19.28 | $4.54 £3.44 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $3.36 CN¥22.84 | $19.18 £14.53 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $41.13 CN¥279.60 | $49.26 £37.31 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $5.98 CN¥40.67 | $13.88 £10.52 | |
China vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 50.7% more for clothing
China | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $45.93 CN¥312.22 | $86.00 £65.15 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $30.93 CN¥210.28 | $44.20 £33.48 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $71.26 CN¥484.43 | $95.21 £72.12 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $72.88 CN¥495.45 | $101.36 £76.78 | |
China vs. United Kingdom - Cost of clothing
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: June 2026
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