Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 8.2% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 44.5% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 47.2% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 28.2% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 6.9% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 71.1% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.3% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 5.0% less in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 44.5% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,907	$4.21 CN¥29.74	-37.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,102	$4.91 CN¥34.69	-10.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,161	$0.48 CN¥3.39	-67.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-62.8%
Average			-44.5%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.2% less for groceries

	South Korea	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,235	$1.71 CN¥12.07	-40.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,290	$7.47 CN¥52.80	+32.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,311	$6.64 CN¥46.96	-13.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,180	$1.78 CN¥12.56	-37.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,917	$1.53 CN¥10.83	-54.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,768	$0.98 CN¥6.95	-69.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,045	$0.77 CN¥5.44	-44.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,121	$0.80 CN¥5.66	-71.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,543	$0.60 CN¥4.26	-75.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,627	$0.35 CN¥2.46	-80.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$0.41 CN¥2.92	-65.7%
Average			-47.2%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.2% less for transportation

	South Korea	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,485	$4.21 CN¥29.77	-4.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,524	$31.54 CN¥223.02	-33.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	-31.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,280	$4.63 CN¥32.71	-44.5%
Average			-28.2%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.9% more for housing

	South Korea	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,958	$12.93 CN¥91.43	-40.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,442	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	+97.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,420	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	+41.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,326	$39.27 CN¥277.61	-70.4%
Average			+6.9%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 71.1% more for childcare

	South Korea	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩557,869	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	+87.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	+54.4%
Average			+71.1%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.3% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,595	$1.12 CN¥7.93	-64.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,258	$2.90 CN¥20.52	-18.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,693	$4.21 CN¥29.74	+32.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,483	$57.84 CN¥408.91	+16.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,912	$8.41 CN¥59.47	-16.9%
Average			-10.3%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.0% less for clothing

	South Korea	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,948	$62.30 CN¥440.46	-6.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,697	$36.37 CN¥257.16	-28.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,204	$81.74 CN¥577.91	+12.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,146	$105.53 CN¥746.11	+2.2%
Average			-5.0%

South Korea 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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