Cost of living comparison

compared to
Beijing vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 14.2% cheaper than Tokyo.

Restaurants
pay 35.8% less in Beijing
Groceries
pay 38.8% less in Beijing
Transportation
pay 33.0% less in Beijing
Housing
pay 39.8% less in Beijing
Childcare
pay 50.5% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.2% less in Beijing
Clothing
pay 18.7% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

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

pay 35.8% less for restaurants

 
Tokyo
Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.51
¥1,011
$4.17
CN¥30.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.21
¥809
$5.57
CN¥40.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.12
¥173
$0.50
CN¥3.56

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pay 38.8% less for groceries

 
Tokyo
Beijing
Bread
1 loaf
$1.63
¥254
$1.43
CN¥10.31
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.01
¥1,088
$7.31
CN¥52.51
Milk (1 gallon) $5.89
¥914
$7.17
CN¥51.53

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pay 33.0% less for transportation

 
Tokyo
Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.42
¥686
$4.36
CN¥31.34
Monthly public transit pass $58.62
¥9,098
$33.40
CN¥240.01
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,767.76
¥3,378,248
$20,872.18
CN¥150,004.17

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pay 39.8% less for housing

 
Tokyo
Beijing
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.86
¥4,945
$13.28
CN¥95.47
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,120.28
¥173,862
$929.88
CN¥6,682.85
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $582.98
¥90,476
$492.44
CN¥3,539.08

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pay 50.5% more for childcare

 
Tokyo
Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $533.29
¥82,764
$763.49
CN¥5,487.08
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,506.96
¥2,251,407
$22,913.01
CN¥164,671.25

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pay 21.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Tokyo
Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.26
¥505
$1.11
CN¥8.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.40
¥528
$3.60
CN¥25.89
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.91
¥607
$3.48
CN¥25.00

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pay 18.7% more for clothing

 
Tokyo
Beijing
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.60
¥8,163
$62.65
CN¥450.29
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.87
¥5,722
$34.69
CN¥249.29
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$63.41
¥9,841
$83.45
CN¥599.76

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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: February 2025
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