Cost of living comparison

Solomon Islands

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Honiara Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 18.8% cheaper than Honiara.

Restaurants: pay 52.3% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 50.2% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 0.4% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 25.3% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 7.5 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.1% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 5.1% more in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Honiara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 52.3% less for restaurants

	Honiara	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.82 SBD55.00	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-34.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.40 SBD100.00	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-57.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.55 SBD12.50	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-66.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 SBD8.75	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-74.9%
Average			-52.3%

Honiara vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.2% less for groceries

	Honiara	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 SBD12.08	$1.73 CN¥11.56	+15.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.27 SBD26.33	$7.22 CN¥48.28	+121.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.62 SBD77.60	$6.41 CN¥42.88	-33.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.60 SBD45.20	$2.02 CN¥13.53	-63.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.87 SBD31.18	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-62.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.85 SBD23.02	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-67.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.20 SBD9.64	$0.79 CN¥5.28	-34.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.88 SBD31.30	$0.93 CN¥6.21	-76.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.69 SBD13.61	$0.71 CN¥4.75	-57.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 SBD7.17	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-63.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.55 SBD12.47	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-74.3%
Average			-50.2%

Honiara vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.4% more for transportation

	Honiara	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 SBD40.27	$4.96 CN¥33.20	-0.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.80 SBD199.99	$34.30 CN¥229.53	+38.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,598.79 SBD150K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	+4.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.16 SBD90.00	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-58.0%
Average			+0.4%

Honiara vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.3% less for housing

	Honiara	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$89.89 SBD724.96	$14.27 CN¥95.47	-84.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$888.61 SBD7,166.32	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	+5.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$433.97 SBD3,499.83	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	+22.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$331.86 SBD2,676.34	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-86.6%
Average			-25.3%

Honiara vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 7.5 times more for childcare

	Honiara	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$99.19 SBD799.96	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	+558.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,851.81 SBD22,998.88	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+751.5%
Average			+648.8%

Honiara vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Honiara	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.48 SBD20.00	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-51.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 SBD27.50	$3.60 CN¥24.09	+5.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.15 SBD33.50	$4.33 CN¥28.94	+4.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.20 SBD299.99	$41.45 CN¥277.32	+11.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.34 SBD35.00	$7.46 CN¥49.90	+71.8%
Average			+3.1%

Honiara vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.1% more for clothing

	Honiara	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.28 SBD219.99	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+158.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$92.99 SBD749.96	$40.41 CN¥270.36	-56.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.13 SBD783.30	$86.99 CN¥582.00	-10.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.29 SBD832.96	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+21.4%
Average			+5.1%

Honiara 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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