Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Shimla Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 4.2 times more expensive than Shimla.

Restaurants
pay 80.8% more in Beijing
Groceries
pay 2.4 times more in Beijing
Transportation
pay 79.3% more in Beijing
Housing
pay 5.9 times more in Beijing
Childcare
pay 13.0 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.3 times more in Beijing
Clothing
pay 2.2 times more in Beijing

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants in Beijing are more expensive than in Shimla. Notably, childcare, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Beijing.

Beijing vs. Shimla Cost Breakdown

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

pay 80.8% more for restaurants

 
Shimla
Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $1.69
₹152.15
$4.21
CN¥29.74
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$3.38
₹304.30
$4.91
CN¥34.69
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.32
₹29.16
$0.48
CN¥3.39

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pay 2.4 times more for groceries

 
Shimla
Beijing
Bread
1 loaf
$0.41
₹37.19
$1.71
CN¥12.07
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.13
₹191.45
$7.47
CN¥52.80
Milk (1 gallon) $2.67
₹239.77
$6.64
CN¥46.96

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pay 79.3% more for transportation

 
Shimla
Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.31
₹388.14
$4.21
CN¥29.77
Monthly public transit pass $8.46
₹760.75
$31.54
CN¥223.02
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $14,658.18
₹1,318,627.72
$18,225.66
CN¥128,857.25

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pay 5.9 times more for housing

 
Shimla
Beijing
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$7.44
₹669.25
$12.93
CN¥91.43
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $92.08
₹8,283.69
$935.23
CN¥6,612.19
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $56.38
₹5,071.65
$504.41
CN¥3,566.20

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pay 13.0 times more for childcare

 
Shimla
Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $44.63
₹4,015.05
$710.76
CN¥5,025.17
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $2,292.69
₹206,246.90
$23,242.73
CN¥164,328.40

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Shimla
Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.58
₹142.01
$1.12
CN¥7.93
Cappuccino in mid-range area $0.94
₹84.53
$2.90
CN¥20.52
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.40
₹395.59
$4.21
CN¥29.74

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

 
Shimla
Beijing
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$32.70
₹2,941.55
$62.30
CN¥440.46
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$27.74
₹2,495.25
$36.37
CN¥257.16
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$45.10
₹4,057.32
$81.74
CN¥577.91

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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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