Cost of living comparison

Panama City, Panama

compared to

Beijing vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 7.1% cheaper than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 62.6% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 32.8% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 3.8% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 43.6% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.3% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 0.6% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 62.6% less for restaurants

	Panama City	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.25 PAB13.25	$4.17 CN¥29.98	-68.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$5.57 CN¥39.97	-30.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$0.50 CN¥3.56	-73.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$0.31 CN¥2.22	-78.1%
Average			-62.6%

Panama City vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.8% less for groceries

	Panama City	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$2.51 PAB2.51	$1.43 CN¥10.30	-42.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.39 PAB6.39	$7.31 CN¥52.48	+14.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.80 PAB6.80	$7.17 CN¥51.49	+5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.68 PAB2.68	$1.74 CN¥12.48	-35.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.41 PAB3.41	$1.53 CN¥10.99	-55.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 PAB1.48	$0.92 CN¥6.59	-38.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 PAB0.72	$0.71 CN¥5.11	-1.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 PAB1.24	$0.89 CN¥6.37	-28.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$0.58 CN¥4.18	-58.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 PAB0.98	$0.37 CN¥2.65	-62.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 PAB1.15	$0.47 CN¥3.38	-58.9%
Average			-32.8%

Panama City vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.8% less for transportation

	Panama City	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.69 PAB3.69	$4.36 CN¥31.31	+18.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 PAB25.00	$33.40 CN¥239.83	+33.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	$20,872.18 CN¥149,895.64	+5.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.71 PAB16.71	$4.59 CN¥32.98	-72.5%
Average			-3.8%

Panama City vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.6% less for housing

	Panama City	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.10 PAB52.10	$13.28 CN¥95.40	-74.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,023.81 PAB1,023.81	$929.88 CN¥6,678.01	-9.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$755.88 PAB755.88	$492.44 CN¥3,536.52	-34.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.84 PAB94.84	$42.04 CN¥301.92	-55.7%
Average			-43.6%

Panama City vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Panama City	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$439.17 PAB439.17	$763.49 CN¥5,483.11	+73.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,092.67 PAB10,092.67	$22,913.01 CN¥164,552.10	+127.0%
Average			+100.5%

Panama City vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$1.11 CN¥7.99	-62.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.59 PAB3.59	$3.60 CN¥25.87	+0.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.50 PAB5.50	$3.48 CN¥24.98	-36.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.27 PAB47.27	$65.46 CN¥470.08	+38.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.00 PAB7.00	$8.35 CN¥59.96	+19.3%
Average			-8.3%

Panama City vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.6% more for clothing

	Panama City	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.91 PAB53.91	$62.65 CN¥449.96	+16.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.78 PAB37.78	$34.69 CN¥249.11	-8.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.62 PAB87.62	$83.45 CN¥599.33	-4.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.75 PAB108.75	$107.64 CN¥773.00	-1.0%
Average			+0.6%

Panama City 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: June 2025

More cost comparisons

Panama City vs.

Hanoi

Panama City vs.

Nairobi

Panama City vs.

Ottawa

Panama City vs.

Delhi

Panama City vs.

Cairo

Panama City vs.

Ankara

Panama City vs.

Vienna

Panama City vs.

Wellington

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Add prices for Beijing

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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