Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Saint Petersburg Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 12.2% more expensive than Saint Petersburg.

Restaurants: pay 40.2% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 13.9% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 20.8% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 11.2% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.5% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 26.6% less in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Saint Petersburg Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Saint Petersburg, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.2% less for restaurants

	Saint Petersburg	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.53 RUB759.29	$4.21 CN¥29.67	-55.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.96 RUB474.55	$4.91 CN¥34.62	-17.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.99 RUB79.09	$0.48 CN¥3.38	-51.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 RUB38.07	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-35.8%
Average			-40.2%

Saint Petersburg vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.9% more for groceries

	Saint Petersburg	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.84 RUB67.06	$1.71 CN¥12.04	+102.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.68 RUB452.87	$7.47 CN¥52.69	+31.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.33 RUB344.91	$6.64 CN¥46.85	+53.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.66 RUB131.89	$1.78 CN¥12.53	+7.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.29 RUB182.23	$1.53 CN¥10.80	-33.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 RUB62.96	$0.98 CN¥6.93	+24.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 RUB61.39	$0.77 CN¥5.43	-0.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 RUB64.61	$0.80 CN¥5.65	-1.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.49 RUB119.08	$0.60 CN¥4.25	-59.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.42 RUB33.52	$0.35 CN¥2.46	-17.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 RUB22.62	$0.41 CN¥2.91	+45.3%
Average			+13.9%

Saint Petersburg vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.8% less for transportation

	Saint Petersburg	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.76 RUB219.93	$4.21 CN¥29.71	+52.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.21 RUB4,000.49	$31.54 CN¥222.53	-37.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,737.37 RUB2,847,323.71	$18,225.66 CN¥128,572.93	-49.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.17 RUB730.81	$4.63 CN¥32.64	-49.6%
Average			-20.8%

Saint Petersburg vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.2% more for housing

	Saint Petersburg	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$7.63 RUB607.70	$12.93 CN¥91.22	+69.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$783.62 RUB62,433.50	$935.23 CN¥6,597.60	+19.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$441.53 RUB35,178.23	$504.41 CN¥3,558.33	+14.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.44 RUB7,524.16	$39.27 CN¥277.00	-58.4%
Average			+11.2%

Saint Petersburg vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Saint Petersburg	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$373.01 RUB29,718.94	$710.76 CN¥5,014.09	+90.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,803.31 RUB701,390.74	$23,242.73 CN¥163,965.81	+164.0%
Average			+127.2%

Saint Petersburg vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Saint Petersburg	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.98 RUB237.28	$1.12 CN¥7.91	-62.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.43 RUB193.67	$2.90 CN¥20.47	+19.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.78 RUB221.14	$4.21 CN¥29.67	+51.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.87 RUB3,176.30	$57.84 CN¥408.00	+45.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.65 RUB450.35	$8.41 CN¥59.34	+48.8%
Average			+20.5%

Saint Petersburg vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.6% less for clothing

	Saint Petersburg	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$93.20 RUB7,425.95	$62.30 CN¥439.49	-33.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.79 RUB3,887.03	$36.37 CN¥256.59	-25.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$115.24 RUB9,181.83	$81.74 CN¥576.64	-29.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$129.44 RUB10,312.95	$105.53 CN¥744.46	-18.5%
Average			-26.6%

Saint Petersburg 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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