Cost of living comparison

Brazil

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Sao Paulo Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 8.5% cheaper than Sao Paulo.

Restaurants: pay 51.1% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 14.8% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 19.6% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 13.4% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 35.4% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.8% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 4.0% less in Beijing

The cost of childcare and housing in Beijing are more expensive than in Sao Paulo. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Beijing.

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Beijing vs. Sao Paulo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Sao Paulo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.1% less for restaurants

	Sao Paulo	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 R$45.35	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-50.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 R$45.35	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-41.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.40 R$7.09	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-62.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 R$4.39	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-68.6%
Average			-51.1%

Sao Paulo vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.8% less for groceries

	Sao Paulo	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.85 R$9.39	$1.73 CN¥11.56	-6.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.20 R$31.41	$7.22 CN¥48.28	+16.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.62 R$23.41	$6.41 CN¥42.88	+38.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 R$14.18	$2.02 CN¥13.53	-27.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.39 R$12.10	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-38.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 R$6.36	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-25.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 R$4.17	$0.79 CN¥5.28	-4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 R$3.63	$0.93 CN¥6.21	+29.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.87 R$4.43	$0.71 CN¥4.75	-18.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 R$3.27	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-50.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 R$2.90	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-30.8%
Average			-14.8%

Sao Paulo vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.6% less for transportation

	Sao Paulo	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.91 R$24.84	$4.96 CN¥33.20	+1.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.37 R$244.87	$34.30 CN¥229.53	-29.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,890.58 R$121K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-18.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.76 R$49.39	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-52.0%
Average			-19.6%

Sao Paulo vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.4% more for housing

	Sao Paulo	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.16 R$112.18	$14.27 CN¥95.47	-35.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$656.54 R$3,323.73	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	+42.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$419.66 R$2,124.51	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	+26.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.32 R$406.60	$44.49 CN¥297.65	-44.6%
Average			+13.4%

Sao Paulo vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 35.4% more for childcare

	Sao Paulo	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$530.90 R$2,687.69	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	+23.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,300.72 R$82,522.42	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+49.0%
Average			+35.4%

Sao Paulo vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Sao Paulo	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.99 R$15.12	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-60.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.56 R$12.94	$3.60 CN¥24.09	+40.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.99 R$15.12	$4.33 CN¥28.94	+44.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$35.87 R$181.58	$41.45 CN¥277.32	+15.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.95 R$50.39	$7.46 CN¥49.90	-25.1%
Average			-10.8%

Sao Paulo vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.0% less for clothing

	Sao Paulo	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.57 R$331.96	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+7.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.53 R$311.49	$40.41 CN¥270.36	-34.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.31 R$502.77	$86.99 CN¥582.00	-12.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.35 R$462.44	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+37.3%
Average			-4.0%

Sao Paulo 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Sao Paulo is about 11 times smaller than Beijing.

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