Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 41.9% more expensive than Port Elizabeth.

Restaurants: pay 47.5% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 8.6% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 9.9% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 15.9% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 4.5 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.5% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 4.3% less in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Port Elizabeth Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Port Elizabeth, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.5% less for restaurants

	Port Elizabeth	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.80 ZAR182.86	$4.21 CN¥29.74	-61.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.13 ZAR86.80	$4.91 CN¥34.69	-4.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.13 ZAR19.18	$0.48 CN¥3.39	-57.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 ZAR15.60	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-66.7%
Average			-47.5%

Port Elizabeth vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.6% more for groceries

	Port Elizabeth	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.02 ZAR17.33	$1.71 CN¥12.07	+66.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.95 ZAR66.86	$7.47 CN¥52.80	+89.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.34 ZAR73.52	$6.64 CN¥46.96	+52.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.86 ZAR48.47	$1.78 CN¥12.56	-38.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.23 ZAR37.82	$1.53 CN¥10.83	-31.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.44	$0.98 CN¥6.95	+23.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 ZAR11.70	$0.77 CN¥5.44	+11.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR12.16	$0.80 CN¥5.66	+11.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.61	$0.60 CN¥4.26	-19.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR12.25	$0.35 CN¥2.46	-51.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.52 ZAR8.76	$0.41 CN¥2.92	-20.3%
Average			+8.6%

Port Elizabeth vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.9% less for transportation

	Port Elizabeth	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ZAR84.76	$4.21 CN¥29.77	-15.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.86 ZAR590.03	$31.54 CN¥223.02	-9.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,075.49 ZAR272,098.61	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	+13.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.38 ZAR108.01	$4.63 CN¥32.71	-27.5%
Average			-9.9%

Port Elizabeth vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.9% less for housing

	Port Elizabeth	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.80 ZAR775.17	$12.93 CN¥91.43	-71.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$606.14 ZAR10,259.78	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	+54.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$455.18 ZAR7,704.58	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	+10.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.03 ZAR1,540.73	$39.27 CN¥277.61	-56.9%
Average			-15.9%

Port Elizabeth vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 4.5 times more for childcare

	Port Elizabeth	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$169.97 ZAR2,877.03	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	+318.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,925.10 ZAR83,363.77	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	+371.9%
Average			+345.0%

Port Elizabeth vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Port Elizabeth	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.62 ZAR44.37	$1.12 CN¥7.93	-57.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.17 ZAR36.67	$2.90 CN¥20.52	+34.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.08 ZAR52.18	$4.21 CN¥29.74	+36.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.31 ZAR512.99	$57.84 CN¥408.91	+90.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.08 ZAR170.67	$8.41 CN¥59.47	-16.6%
Average			+17.5%

Port Elizabeth vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.3% less for clothing

	Port Elizabeth	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.99 ZAR1,150.81	$62.30 CN¥440.46	-8.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.39 ZAR649.85	$36.37 CN¥257.16	-5.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.87 ZAR1,690.46	$81.74 CN¥577.91	-18.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.19 ZAR1,560.42	$105.53 CN¥746.11	+14.5%
Average			-4.3%

Port Elizabeth 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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