Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Hanoi Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 43.5% more expensive than Hanoi.

Restaurants: pay 47.8% more in Beijing
Groceries: pay 12.6% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 35.1% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 74.3% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 13.8% less in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 71.0% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 38.9% more in Beijing

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, transportation, and groceries in Beijing are more expensive than in Hanoi.

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Beijing vs. Hanoi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 47.8% more for restaurants

	Hanoi	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.12 ₫54,815	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+111.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 ₫114K	$5.22 CN¥34.93	+18.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ₫12,707	$0.52 CN¥3.49	+6.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 ₫7,911	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-10.9%
Average			+47.8%

Hanoi vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.6% more for groceries

	Hanoi	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫28,093	$1.73 CN¥11.56	+59.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.21 ₫135K	$7.22 CN¥48.28	+38.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.70 ₫148K	$6.41 CN¥42.88	+12.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.47 ₫38,071	$2.02 CN¥13.53	+37.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.68 ₫43,626	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-13.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₫39,415	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-38.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 ₫12,449	$0.79 CN¥5.28	+64.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 ₫15,804	$0.93 CN¥6.21	+52.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 ₫13,206	$0.71 CN¥4.75	+39.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 ₫11,217	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-25.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.50 ₫13,012	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-21.0%
Average			+12.6%

Hanoi vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.1% more for transportation

	Hanoi	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.47 ₫89,815	$4.96 CN¥33.20	+43.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.24 ₫239K	$34.30 CN¥229.53	+271.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-36.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.39 ₫140K	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-13.1%
Average			+35.1%

Hanoi vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 74.3% more for housing

	Hanoi	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.84 ₫229K	$14.27 CN¥95.47	+61.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$407.99 ₫11M	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	+129.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$278.92 ₫7M	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	+90.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.57 ₫2M	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-32.1%
Average			+74.3%

Hanoi vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 13.8% less for childcare

	Hanoi	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$771.38 ₫20M	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	-15.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,672.00 ₫717M	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	-12.3%
Average			-13.8%

Hanoi vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 71.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Hanoi	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.08 ₫27,896	$1.19 CN¥7.98	+10.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ₫48,672	$3.60 CN¥24.09	+91.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.40 ₫36,277	$4.33 CN¥28.94	+208.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.48 ₫634K	$41.45 CN¥277.32	+69.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 ₫110K	$7.46 CN¥49.90	+76.1%
Average			+71.0%

Hanoi vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.9% more for clothing

	Hanoi	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.20 ₫1M	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+46.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.30 ₫681K	$40.41 CN¥270.36	+53.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.83 ₫2M	$86.99 CN¥582.00	+3.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.65 ₫2M	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+59.4%
Average			+38.9%

Hanoi 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Hanoi is about 4.9 times smaller than Beijing.

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