Cost of living comparison

Muscat, Oman

compared to

Beijing, China

Beijing vs. Muscat Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 29.2% more expensive than Muscat.

Restaurants: pay 22.1% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 22.8% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 5.7% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 14.2% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 3.3 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.8% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 16.9% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Muscat Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.1% less for restaurants

	Muscat	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.20 OMR2.000	$4.17 CN¥30.22	-19.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.79 OMR3.000	$5.57 CN¥40.29	-28.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 OMR0.330	$0.50 CN¥3.59	-41.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 OMR0.120	$0.31 CN¥2.24	+0.9%
Average			-22.1%

Muscat vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.8% more for groceries

	Muscat	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 OMR0.450	$1.43 CN¥10.38	+22.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.01 OMR0.770	$7.31 CN¥52.89	+264.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.07 OMR2.340	$7.17 CN¥51.90	+18.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.30 OMR0.880	$1.74 CN¥12.58	-24.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.12 OMR0.820	$1.53 CN¥11.08	-27.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 OMR0.410	$0.92 CN¥6.64	-14.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 OMR0.300	$0.71 CN¥5.15	-9.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.77 OMR0.300	$0.89 CN¥6.42	+14.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 OMR0.200	$0.58 CN¥4.22	+11.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 OMR0.170	$0.37 CN¥2.67	-14.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.42 OMR0.160	$0.47 CN¥3.41	+11.4%
Average			+22.8%

Muscat vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.7% less for transportation

	Muscat	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.33 OMR0.900	$4.36 CN¥31.56	+86.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$62.34 OMR24.000	$33.40 CN¥241.74	-46.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,858.86 OMR8,801.120	$20,872.18 CN¥151,087.44	-8.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.13 OMR3.900	$4.59 CN¥33.24	-54.7%
Average			-5.7%

Muscat vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.2% less for housing

	Muscat	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.80 OMR26.880	$13.28 CN¥96.16	-81.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$609.46 OMR234.650	$929.88 CN¥6,731.11	+52.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$409.71 OMR157.750	$492.44 CN¥3,564.64	+20.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.57 OMR31.410	$42.04 CN¥304.32	-48.5%
Average			-14.2%

Muscat vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.3 times more for childcare

	Muscat	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$188.90 OMR72.730	$763.49 CN¥5,526.70	+304.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,697.81 OMR3,348.830	$22,913.01 CN¥165,860.43	+163.4%
Average			+233.8%

Muscat vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Muscat	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.99 OMR5.000	$1.11 CN¥8.06	-91.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.85 OMR1.870	$3.60 CN¥26.08	-25.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.97 OMR2.300	$3.48 CN¥25.18	-41.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.34 OMR17.460	$65.46 CN¥473.82	+44.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.39 OMR4.000	$8.35 CN¥60.43	-19.6%
Average			-26.8%

Muscat vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.9% more for clothing

	Muscat	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.16 OMR16.620	$62.65 CN¥453.54	+45.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.38 OMR14.390	$34.69 CN¥251.09	-7.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.28 OMR29.750	$83.45 CN¥604.09	+8.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.48 OMR34.070	$107.64 CN¥779.15	+21.6%
Average			+16.9%

Muscat vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2025

More cost comparisons

Muscat vs.

Vienna

Muscat vs.

Moscow

Muscat vs.

Washington

Muscat vs.

Ankara

Muscat vs.

Paris

Muscat vs.

Wellington

Muscat vs.

Mexico City

Muscat vs.

Phnom Penh

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Oman vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Oman and China.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Muscat

Add prices for Beijing

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Beijing or Muscat. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.