Cost of living comparison

French Polynesia

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Papeete Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 43.3% cheaper than Papeete.

Restaurants: pay 75.9% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 59.2% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 5.3% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 46.2% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 89.8% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.1% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 2.5% less in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Papeete Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 75.9% less for restaurants

	Papeete	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.77 CFPF1,993	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-76.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.78 CFPF1,570	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-64.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.67 CFPF284	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-80.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.28 CFPF349	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-91.7%
Average			-75.9%

Papeete vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.2% less for groceries

	Papeete	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$2.67 CFPF284	$1.73 CN¥11.56	-35.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.92 CFPF1,478	$7.22 CN¥48.28	-48.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.55 CFPF589	$6.41 CN¥42.88	+15.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.27 CFPF666	$2.02 CN¥13.53	-67.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.92 CFPF735	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-78.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.13 CFPF226	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-56.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.12 CFPF119	$0.79 CN¥5.28	-29.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.98 CFPF316	$0.93 CN¥6.21	-68.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.56 CFPF379	$0.71 CN¥4.75	-80.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 CFPF130	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-73.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 CFPF107	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-60.7%
Average			-59.2%

Papeete vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.3% less for transportation

	Papeete	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.64 CFPF599	$4.96 CN¥33.20	-12.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$34.30 CN¥229.53
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,766.76 CFPF2M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	+3.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$4.68 CN¥31.34
Average			-5.3%

Papeete vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.2% less for housing

	Papeete	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.67 CFPF7,400	$14.27 CN¥95.47	-79.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,337.13 CFPF142K	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	-29.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$938.34 CFPF99,660	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	-43.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$138.13 CFPF14,671	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-67.8%
Average			-46.2%

Papeete vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 89.8% more for childcare

	Papeete	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$469.17 CFPF49,830	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	+39.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,383.38 CFPF997K	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+158.8%
Average			+89.8%

Papeete vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Papeete	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.28 CFPF349	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-63.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.40 CFPF361	$3.60 CN¥24.09	+5.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.86 CFPF1,365	$4.33 CN¥28.94	-66.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$84.45 CFPF8,969	$41.45 CN¥277.32	-50.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.08 CFPF1,495	$7.46 CN¥49.90	-47.0%
Average			-47.1%

Papeete vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5% less for clothing

	Papeete	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$68.78 CFPF7,305	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+2.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$71.91 CFPF7,637	$40.41 CN¥270.36	-43.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.16 CFPF8,302	$86.99 CN¥582.00	+11.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.14 CFPF9,468	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+40.7%
Average			-2.5%

Papeete 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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