Cost of living comparison

Canada

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 44.6% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 69.9% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 44.3% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 35.5% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 50.6% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 3.5% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.5% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 7.5% more in Beijing

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

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

Beijing vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 69.9% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.24 CA$25.82	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-75.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.52 CA$14.89	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-50.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 CA$2.92	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-74.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.74 CA$2.46	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-84.3%
Average			-69.9%

Ottawa vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.3% less for groceries

	Ottawa	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$3.07 CA$4.35	$1.73 CN¥11.56	-43.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 CA$7.46	$7.22 CN¥48.28	+36.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$12.24	$6.41 CN¥42.88	-25.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.38 CA$4.78	$2.02 CN¥13.53	-40.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.07 CA$7.18	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-71.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.72 CA$2.43	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-45.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CA$0.87	$0.79 CN¥5.28	+28.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.75 CA$2.48	$0.93 CN¥6.21	-47.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.64 CA$2.33	$0.71 CN¥4.75	-56.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 CA$1.65	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-72.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 CA$1.53	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-63.3%
Average			-44.3%

Ottawa vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.5% less for transportation

	Ottawa	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.48 CA$6.35	$4.96 CN¥33.20	+10.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.69 CA$134.05	$34.30 CN¥229.53	-63.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,760.48 CA$39,301.90	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-30.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.45 CA$20.46	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-67.6%
Average			-35.5%

Ottawa vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 50.6% less for housing

	Ottawa	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.74 CA$70.42	$14.27 CN¥95.47	-71.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,478.74 CA$2,093.52	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	-36.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,220.86 CA$1,728.44	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	-56.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$103.40 CA$146.38	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-57.0%
Average			-50.6%

Ottawa vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.5% more for childcare

	Ottawa	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$927.38 CA$1,312.93	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	-29.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,956.31 CA$22,590.15	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+52.2%
Average			+3.5%

Ottawa vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.61 CA$7.94	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-78.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CA$5.73	$3.60 CN¥24.09	-11.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.31 CA$20.26	$4.33 CN¥28.94	-69.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.45 CA$64.35	$41.45 CN¥277.32	-8.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.65 CA$17.91	$7.46 CN¥49.90	-41.1%
Average			-45.5%

Ottawa vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.5% more for clothing

	Ottawa	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.13 CA$85.12	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+17.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.89 CA$53.64	$40.41 CN¥270.36	+6.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.98 CA$150.04	$86.99 CN¥582.00	-17.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.50 CA$136.62	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+29.9%
Average			+7.5%

Ottawa vs. Beijing - 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: Ottawa vs. Beijing

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Beijing?

Size Comparison · See true size

Ottawa is about 6 times smaller than Beijing.

More cost comparisons

Ottawa vs.

Dublin

Ottawa vs.

Kiev

Ottawa vs.

Cairo

Ottawa vs.

Reykjavik

Ottawa vs.

Bangkok

Ottawa vs.

Madrid

Ottawa vs.

Hanoi

Ottawa vs.

Warsaw

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Canada vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Canada and China.

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 Ottawa

Add prices for Beijing

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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