Cost of living comparison

Beijing, China

compared to

Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Kabul is 10.8% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 18.9% less in Kabul
Groceries: pay 54.1% less in Kabul
Transportation: pay 12.8% less in Kabul
Housing: pay 2.9 times more in Kabul
Childcare: pay 95.2% less in Kabul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.3% less in Kabul
Clothing: pay 71.8% less in Kabul

Expenses including childcare, clothing, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Kabul. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Kabul.

Kabul vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.9% less for restaurants

	Beijing	Kabul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥29.91	$2.63 AFN184	-36.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.57 CN¥39.88	$7.31 AFN511	+31.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 CN¥3.55	$0.38 AFN26	-24.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.22	$0.17 AFN12	-45.9%
Average			-18.9%

Beijing vs. Kabul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.1% less for groceries

	Beijing	Kabul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.43 CN¥10.28	$0.25 AFN17	-82.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.31 CN¥52.36	$1.96 AFN137	-73.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.17 CN¥51.37	$3.05 AFN213	-57.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥12.45	$1.48 AFN103	-14.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.97	$1.54 AFN108	+0.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.57	$0.25 AFN17	-72.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥5.10	$0.36 AFN25	-48.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 CN¥6.36	$0.37 AFN26	-58.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥4.18	$0.23 AFN16	-61.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 CN¥2.64	$0.15 AFN10	-59.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 CN¥3.37	$0.15 AFN11	-67.8%
Average			-54.1%

Beijing vs. Kabul - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.8% less for transportation

	Beijing	Kabul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.36 CN¥31.24	$3.96 AFN277	-9.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.40 CN¥239.29	$8.93 AFN624	-73.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,872.18 CN¥149,555.42	$7,079.28 AFN494,463	-66.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.59 CN¥32.90	$9.07 AFN633	+97.5%
Average			-12.8%

Beijing vs. Kabul - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

	Beijing	Kabul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.28 CN¥95.18	$130.18 AFN9,092	+880.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$929.88 CN¥6,662.86	$103.61 AFN7,236	-88.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$492.44 CN¥3,528.50	$89.85 AFN6,276	-81.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.04 CN¥301.23	$70.84 AFN4,948	+68.5%
Average			+194.4%

Beijing vs. Kabul - Cost of housing

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pay 95.2% less for childcare

	Beijing	Kabul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$763.49 CN¥5,470.66	$23.40 AFN1,635	-96.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,913.01 CN¥164,178.62	$1,462.66 AFN102,162	-93.6%
Average			-95.2%

Beijing vs. Kabul - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Kabul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 CN¥7.98	$2.93 AFN204	+162.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥25.82	$1.27 AFN89	-64.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥24.93	$2.63 AFN184	-24.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.46 CN¥469.02	$8.78 AFN613	-86.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥59.82	$2.19 AFN153	-73.7%
Average			-17.3%

Beijing vs. Kabul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 71.8% less for clothing

	Beijing	Kabul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.65 CN¥448.94	$10.97 AFN766	-82.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.69 CN¥248.54	$16.03 AFN1,120	-53.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.45 CN¥597.97	$23.77 AFN1,660	-71.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.64 CN¥771.25	$22.38 AFN1,563	-79.2%
Average			-71.8%

Beijing vs. Kabul - 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: July 2025

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