Cost of living comparison

Kenya

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 26.8% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 27.5% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 12.6% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 24.4% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 85.4% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.2% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 74.6% more in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.5% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.16 KES800.43	$4.47 CN¥29.87	-27.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.54 KES850.46	$5.22 CN¥34.85	-20.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.64 KES83.62	$0.52 CN¥3.48	-18.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 KES76.71	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-53.9%
Average			-27.5%

Nairobi vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.6% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES71.30	$1.73 CN¥11.53	+214.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 KES691.76	$7.22 CN¥48.16	+35.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.32 KES430.82	$6.41 CN¥42.78	+93.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 KES224.35	$2.02 CN¥13.50	+17.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.90 KES376.50	$1.47 CN¥9.78	-49.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 KES197.76	$0.93 CN¥6.23	-38.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.17	$0.79 CN¥5.27	+62.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 KES118.28	$0.93 CN¥6.19	+1.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 KES66.06	$0.71 CN¥4.74	+39.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES64.02	$0.32 CN¥2.14	-34.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.28	$0.40 CN¥2.65	-18.5%
Average			+12.6%

Nairobi vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.4% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.96 KES775.00	$4.96 CN¥33.12	-16.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.20 KES6,003.23	$34.30 CN¥228.99	-25.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,558.36 KES3M	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-10.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.86 KES1,800.97	$4.68 CN¥31.26	-66.2%
Average			-24.4%

Nairobi vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 85.4% more for housing

	Nairobi	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.94 KES4,540.91	$14.27 CN¥95.25	-59.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$445.43 KES57,884.12	$936.67 CN¥6,252.37	+110.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$216.55 KES28,140.16	$530.98 CN¥3,544.34	+145.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.75 KES5,555.61	$44.49 CN¥296.96	+4.1%
Average			+85.4%

Nairobi vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Nairobi	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$248.58 KES32,303.11	$653.29 CN¥4,360.75	+162.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,318.78 KES2M	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+97.1%
Average			+127.6%

Nairobi vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES300.16	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-48.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.64 KES343.52	$3.60 CN¥24.03	+36.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.54 KES460.25	$4.33 CN¥28.87	+22.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.37 KES6,545.19	$41.45 CN¥276.67	-17.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.70 KES1,000.54	$7.46 CN¥49.78	-3.1%
Average			-10.2%

Nairobi vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 74.6% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.10 KES3,651.97	$70.55 CN¥470.92	+151.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.04 KES3,774.21	$40.41 CN¥269.73	+39.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.92 KES9,086.71	$86.99 CN¥580.64	+24.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.58 KES7,612.76	$125.40 CN¥837.05	+114.1%
Average			+74.6%

Nairobi 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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