Cost of living comparison

Moldova

compared to

China

China vs. Moldova Cost of Living Summary

China is 16.0% cheaper than Moldova overall.

Restaurants: pay 57.1% less in China
Groceries: pay 12.1% more in China
Transportation: pay 18.3% less in China
Housing: pay 32.4% less in China
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.5% more in China
Clothing: pay 7.2% less in China

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

Planning a move to China? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

China vs. Moldova Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Moldova, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 57.1% less for restaurants

	Moldova	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.35 MDL167.98	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-67.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.74 MDL157.06	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-41.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.02 MDL18.32	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-50.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.67 MDL12.05	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-56.1%
Average			-57.1%

Moldova vs. China - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.1% more for groceries

	Moldova	China
Bread 1 loaf	$0.51 MDL9.13	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+226.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.87 MDL69.59	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+73.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.41 MDL79.21	$6.65 CN¥44.53	+50.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MDL41.48	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-32.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.20 MDL39.50	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-31.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.45 MDL8.11	$0.83 CN¥5.55	+83.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.93 MDL16.65	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-36.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 MDL15.67	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-23.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 MDL18.65	$0.58 CN¥3.90	-43.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MDL5.63	$0.33 CN¥2.18	+4.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.23 MDL4.22	$0.40 CN¥2.67	+70.2%
Average			+12.1%

Moldova vs. China - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.3% less for transportation

	Moldova	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.15 MDL110.50	$4.77 CN¥31.92	-22.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$17.07 MDL306.73	$20.77 CN¥138.99	+21.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,274.90 MDL580K	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-41.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.30 MDL77.27	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-1.3%
Average			-18.3%

Moldova vs. China - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.4% less for housing

	Moldova	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.64 MDL191.11	$11.27 CN¥75.42	+6.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$414.42 MDL7,445.70	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	-18.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$301.91 MDL5,424.26	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	-29.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$134.34 MDL2,413.65	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-68.1%
Average			-32.4%

Moldova vs. China - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Moldova	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$219.48 MDL3,943.33	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+128.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,438.11 MDL97,703.64	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+247.7%
Average			+181.6%

Moldova vs. China - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Moldova	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 MDL26.88	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-24.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.77 MDL31.77	$2.84 CN¥19.00	+60.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.38 MDL60.81	$3.71 CN¥24.79	+9.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.66 MDL568.73	$41.75 CN¥279.37	+31.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.45 MDL115.91	$6.28 CN¥41.99	-2.7%
Average			+11.5%

Moldova vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.2% less for clothing

	Moldova	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.78 MDL948.25	$46.40 CN¥310.43	-12.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.13 MDL685.02	$33.97 CN¥227.29	-10.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.27 MDL1,657.83	$73.79 CN¥493.72	-20.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$66.57 MDL1,196.02	$78.93 CN¥528.10	+18.6%
Average			-7.2%

Moldova vs. China - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Moldova vs. China

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in China?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 3.1 times more likely to be unemployed in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Moldova is about 284 times smaller than China.

Moving from Moldova to China · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Moldova vs.

United Kingdom

Moldova vs.

Russia

Moldova vs.

Romania

Moldova vs.

Italy

Moldova vs.

Ukraine

Moldova vs.

United States

Moldova vs.

Germany

Moldova vs.

Portugal

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Chisinau vs. Beijing

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Moldova

Add prices for China

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about China or Moldova. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.