Cost of living comparison

Zimbabwe

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Harare Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 14.0% more expensive than Harare.

Restaurants: pay 40.0% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 12.7% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 35.5% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 64.4% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.5% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 2.5 times more in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Harare Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.0% less for restaurants

	Harare	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$4.47 CN¥29.87	-55.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.75 ZWL1,851.50	$5.22 CN¥34.85	-9.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.96 ZWL308.58	$0.52 CN¥3.48	-45.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZWL151.05	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-41.9%
Average			-40.0%

Harare vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.7% less for groceries

	Harare	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZWL322.00	$1.73 CN¥11.53	+72.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.73 ZWL1,845.30	$7.22 CN¥48.16	+25.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.73 ZWL1,843.59	$6.41 CN¥42.78	+11.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.93 ZWL622.53	$2.02 CN¥13.50	+4.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 ZWL791.38	$1.47 CN¥9.78	-40.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 ZWL439.66	$0.93 CN¥6.23	-31.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 ZWL243.55	$0.79 CN¥5.27	+4.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 ZWL296.54	$0.93 CN¥6.19	+0.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZWL226.23	$0.71 CN¥4.74	+1.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 ZWL251.62	$0.32 CN¥2.14	-58.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 ZWL257.47	$0.40 CN¥2.65	-50.4%
Average			-12.7%

Harare vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.5% less for transportation

	Harare	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.91 ZWL2,223.82	$4.96 CN¥33.12	-28.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$60.00 ZWL19,320.00	$34.30 CN¥228.99	-42.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,000.00 ZWL7M	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-11.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	$4.68 CN¥31.26	-76.6%
Average			-35.5%

Harare vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.4% more for housing

	Harare	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.99 ZWL22,213.67	$14.27 CN¥95.25	-79.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$390.00 ZWL126K	$936.67 CN¥6,252.37	+140.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$316.60 ZWL102K	$530.98 CN¥3,544.34	+67.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 ZWL12,644.39	$44.49 CN¥296.96	+13.3%
Average			+64.4%

Harare vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Harare	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$433.79 ZWL140K	$653.29 CN¥4,360.75	+50.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,555.56 ZWL3M	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+183.8%
Average			+106.7%

Harare vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Harare	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.25 ZWL402.50	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-4.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 ZWL966.00	$3.60 CN¥24.03	+20.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 ZWL644.00	$4.33 CN¥28.87	+116.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.92 ZWL15,429.17	$41.45 CN¥276.67	-13.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$7.46 CN¥49.78	-25.4%
Average			-0.5%

Harare vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5 times more for clothing

	Harare	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.22 ZWL7,477.56	$70.55 CN¥470.92	+203.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.15 ZWL6,809.04	$40.41 CN¥269.73	+91.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$38.68 ZWL12,453.92	$86.99 CN¥580.64	+124.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.37 ZWL12,998.47	$125.40 CN¥837.05	+210.6%
Average			+152.4%

Harare 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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