Cost of living comparison

Serbia

compared to

China

China vs. Serbia Cost of Living Summary

China is 21.7% cheaper than Serbia overall.

Restaurants: pay 63.3% less in China
Groceries: pay 0.7% less in China
Transportation: pay 32.9% less in China
Housing: pay 24.2% less in China
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.8% more in China
Clothing: pay 33.2% less in China

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

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China vs. Serbia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Serbia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.3% less for restaurants

	Serbia	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.70 RSD909	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-65.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.63 RSD1,006	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-46.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.05 RSD215	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-75.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 RSD165	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-81.3%
Average			-63.3%

Serbia vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.7% less for groceries

	Serbia	China
Bread 1 loaf	$0.78 RSD81	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+113.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.54 RSD475	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+47.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.83 RSD505	$6.65 CN¥44.53	+37.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.32 RSD242	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-32.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.82 RSD295	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-46.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.56 RSD58	$0.83 CN¥5.55	+48.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 RSD81	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-24.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 RSD75	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-7.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 RSD104	$0.58 CN¥3.90	-41.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.41 RSD43	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-21.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.32 RSD34	$0.40 CN¥2.67	+23.2%
Average			-0.7%

Serbia vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.9% less for transportation

	Serbia	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.92 RSD724	$4.77 CN¥31.92	-31.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.68 RSD2,684	$20.77 CN¥138.99	-19.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,965.17 RSD3M	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-37.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.06 RSD947	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-53.2%
Average			-32.9%

Serbia vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.2% less for housing

	Serbia	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.71 RSD2,792	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-57.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$340.23 RSD35,559	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	-1.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$248.38 RSD25,959	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	-14.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$130.61 RSD13,650	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-67.1%
Average			-24.2%

Serbia vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Serbia	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$258.66 RSD27,033	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+93.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,159.32 RSD748K	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+164.1%
Average			+126.1%

Serbia vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Serbia	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.55 RSD267	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-55.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.92 RSD200	$2.84 CN¥19.00	+48.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 RSD453	$3.71 CN¥24.79	-14.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.21 RSD3,053	$41.75 CN¥279.37	+42.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.57 RSD582	$6.28 CN¥41.99	+12.7%
Average			+1.8%

Serbia vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.2% less for clothing

	Serbia	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$82.25 RSD8,596	$46.40 CN¥310.43	-43.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.18 RSD4,721	$33.97 CN¥227.29	-24.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.67 RSD11,044	$73.79 CN¥493.72	-30.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.40 RSD12,270	$78.93 CN¥528.10	-32.8%
Average			-33.2%

Serbia vs. China - 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

Compare further: Serbia vs. China

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Size Comparison · See true size

Serbia is about 124 times smaller than China.

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