Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Petaling Jaya Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 47.9% more expensive than Petaling Jaya.

Restaurants: pay 10.8% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 2.5% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 68.2% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 32.2% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.7% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 55.0% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Petaling Jaya Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Petaling Jaya, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.8% less for restaurants

	Petaling Jaya	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.55 MYR14.61	$4.21 CN¥29.74	+18.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.48	$4.91 CN¥34.69	+3.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 MYR3.23	$0.48 CN¥3.39	-39.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.41 MYR1.70	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-26.0%
Average			-10.8%

Petaling Jaya vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5% less for groceries

	Petaling Jaya	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 MYR4.06	$1.71 CN¥12.07	+72.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.33 MYR21.92	$7.47 CN¥52.80	+40.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.24 MYR29.75	$6.64 CN¥46.96	-8.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 MYR9.16	$1.78 CN¥12.56	-20.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 MYR6.25	$1.53 CN¥10.83	+0.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.08	$0.98 CN¥6.95	-20.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 MYR3.20	$0.77 CN¥5.44	-1.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.15 MYR4.72	$0.80 CN¥5.66	-30.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 MYR2.31	$0.60 CN¥4.26	+7.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.18	$0.35 CN¥2.46	-34.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.55	$0.41 CN¥2.92	-33.5%
Average			-2.5%

Petaling Jaya vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 68.2% more for transportation

	Petaling Jaya	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.84 MYR7.56	$4.21 CN¥29.77	+129.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.71	$31.54 CN¥223.02	+166.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,621.80 MYR129,997.22	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	-42.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.85 MYR15.83	$4.63 CN¥32.71	+20.1%
Average			+68.2%

Petaling Jaya vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.2% more for housing

	Petaling Jaya	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.69 MYR93.28	$12.93 CN¥91.43	-43.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$465.05 MYR1,911.81	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	+101.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$345.29 MYR1,419.51	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	+46.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.51 MYR129.55	$39.27 CN¥277.61	+24.6%
Average			+32.2%

Petaling Jaya vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Petaling Jaya	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$229.86 MYR944.95	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	+209.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,360.19 MYR38,479.74	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	+148.3%
Average			+178.8%

Petaling Jaya vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Petaling Jaya	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.55 MYR14.61	$1.12 CN¥7.93	-68.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.95 MYR12.11	$2.90 CN¥20.52	-1.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.25 MYR17.49	$4.21 CN¥29.74	-1.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.94 MYR135.41	$57.84 CN¥408.91	+75.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.46	$8.41 CN¥59.47	+69.0%
Average			+14.7%

Petaling Jaya vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.0% more for clothing

	Petaling Jaya	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.76 MYR204.58	$62.30 CN¥440.46	+25.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.52 MYR141.90	$36.37 CN¥257.16	+5.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.55 MYR220.16	$81.74 CN¥577.91	+52.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$44.55 MYR183.14	$105.53 CN¥746.11	+136.9%
Average			+55.0%

Petaling Jaya vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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