Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Russia Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 34.5% more expensive than Russia overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.6% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 21.8% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 13.2% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 50.4% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.7 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.4% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 7.4% less in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Russia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.6% less for restaurants

	Russia	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.65 RUB750.26	$4.21 CN¥29.76	-56.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.53 RUB429.86	$4.91 CN¥34.72	-11.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 RUB82.04	$0.48 CN¥3.39	-54.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 RUB39.84	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-40.1%
Average			-40.6%

Russia vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.8% more for groceries

	Russia	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.63 RUB48.99	$1.71 CN¥12.07	+170.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.02 RUB390.35	$7.47 CN¥52.84	+48.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.22 RUB328.07	$6.64 CN¥46.99	+57.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.60 RUB124.25	$1.78 CN¥12.57	+11.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.20 RUB171.01	$1.53 CN¥10.83	-30.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 RUB61.35	$0.98 CN¥6.95	+24.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 RUB62.32	$0.77 CN¥5.44	-4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 RUB72.28	$0.80 CN¥5.66	-13.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.25 RUB97.49	$0.60 CN¥4.26	-52.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.38 RUB29.48	$0.35 CN¥2.47	-8.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 RUB23.55	$0.41 CN¥2.92	+36.1%
Average			+21.8%

Russia vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.2% more for transportation

	Russia	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.69 RUB209.35	$4.21 CN¥29.80	+56.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.72 RUB1,688.04	$31.54 CN¥223.19	+45.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,562.55 RUB2,452,945.27	$18,225.66 CN¥128,952.02	-42.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.94 RUB384.30	$4.63 CN¥32.73	-6.4%
Average			+13.2%

Russia vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.4% more for housing

	Russia	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$7.57 RUB588.25	$12.93 CN¥91.49	+70.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$433.96 RUB33,726.17	$935.23 CN¥6,617.06	+115.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$300.84 RUB23,380.59	$504.41 CN¥3,568.82	+67.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.77 RUB6,432.37	$39.27 CN¥277.81	-52.6%
Average			+50.4%

Russia vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.7 times more for childcare

	Russia	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$300.70 RUB23,369.39	$710.76 CN¥5,028.87	+136.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,780.29 RUB604,660.71	$23,242.73 CN¥164,449.26	+198.7%
Average			+167.6%

Russia vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Russia	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.70 RUB132.06	$1.12 CN¥7.94	-34.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.17 RUB168.48	$2.90 CN¥20.53	+33.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.68 RUB208.50	$4.21 CN¥29.76	+56.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$35.84 RUB2,785.59	$57.84 CN¥409.21	+61.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.13 RUB398.32	$8.41 CN¥59.52	+64.1%
Average			+36.4%

Russia vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.4% less for clothing

	Russia	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.56 RUB4,861.67	$62.30 CN¥440.79	-0.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.72 RUB3,398.03	$36.37 CN¥257.35	-16.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.93 RUB7,999.61	$81.74 CN¥578.34	-20.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.34 RUB7,564.61	$105.53 CN¥746.66	+8.4%
Average			-7.4%

Russia 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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