Cost of living comparison

Qatar

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Doha Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 31.9% cheaper than Doha.

Restaurants: pay 45.4% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 10.2% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 10.9% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 52.7% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 56.9% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.4% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 2.9% more in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Doha Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.4% less for restaurants

	Doha	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.61 QAR35.16	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-53.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.23 QAR30.14	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-36.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.94 QAR3.45	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-44.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 QAR1.53	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-34.7%
Average			-45.4%

Doha vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.2% less for groceries

	Doha	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.39 QAR5.07	$1.73 CN¥11.56	+24.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.62 QAR20.58	$7.22 CN¥48.28	+28.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.97 QAR29.19	$6.41 CN¥42.88	-19.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.41 QAR12.49	$2.02 CN¥13.53	-40.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.56 QAR13.02	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-58.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.01 QAR3.71	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-7.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 QAR3.02	$0.79 CN¥5.28	-4.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 QAR2.57	$0.93 CN¥6.21	+32.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 QAR2.04	$0.71 CN¥4.75	+27.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 QAR1.59	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-26.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 QAR1.63	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-10.8%
Average			-10.2%

Doha vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.9% more for transportation

	Doha	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.14 QAR7.82	$4.96 CN¥33.20	+132.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$27.44 QAR100.46	$34.30 CN¥229.53	+25.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,978.05 QAR102K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-30.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.39 QAR67.31	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-74.5%
Average			+10.9%

Doha vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.7% less for housing

	Doha	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.45 QAR316.45	$14.27 CN¥95.47	-83.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,897.48 QAR6,946.15	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	-50.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,178.09 QAR4,312.64	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	-54.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.24 QAR238.83	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-31.8%
Average			-52.7%

Doha vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 56.9% more for childcare

	Doha	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$670.94 QAR2,456.14	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	-2.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,605.02 QAR35,161.31	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+152.8%
Average			+56.9%

Doha vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Doha	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.21 QAR44.71	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-90.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.87 QAR21.49	$3.60 CN¥24.09	-38.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.45 QAR23.61	$4.33 CN¥28.94	-32.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$125.60 QAR459.80	$41.45 CN¥277.32	-67.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.35 QAR45.21	$7.46 CN¥49.90	-39.6%
Average			-63.4%

Doha vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% more for clothing

	Doha	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.60 QAR221.85	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+16.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.93 QAR197.41	$40.41 CN¥270.36	-25.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.54 QAR364.40	$86.99 CN¥582.00	-12.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$85.38 QAR312.54	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+46.9%
Average			+2.9%

Doha vs. Beijing - 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

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