Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Saudi Arabia Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 26.3% more expensive than Saudi Arabia overall.

Restaurants: pay 17.8% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 1.9% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 7.2% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 21.3% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.7% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 8.2% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Saudi Arabia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.8% less for restaurants

	Saudi Arabia	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.73 SAR25.27	$4.17 CN¥30.56	-38.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.54 SAR28.32	$5.57 CN¥40.75	-26.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 SAR2.77	$0.50 CN¥3.63	-32.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 SAR0.92	$0.31 CN¥2.26	+25.6%
Average			-17.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.9% less for groceries

	Saudi Arabia	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.94 SAR3.54	$1.43 CN¥10.50	+52.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.87 SAR14.53	$7.31 CN¥53.49	+88.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 SAR25.41	$7.17 CN¥52.49	+6.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.58 SAR9.68	$1.74 CN¥12.72	-32.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.22 SAR12.10	$1.53 CN¥11.21	-52.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.94 SAR3.54	$0.92 CN¥6.72	-2.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 SAR2.87	$0.71 CN¥5.21	-6.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.75 SAR2.80	$0.89 CN¥6.49	+18.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 SAR2.76	$0.58 CN¥4.27	-20.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 SAR2.53	$0.37 CN¥2.70	-45.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.63 SAR2.38	$0.47 CN¥3.45	-25.6%
Average			-1.9%

Saudi Arabia vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.2% less for transportation

	Saudi Arabia	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.30 SAR8.64	$4.36 CN¥31.92	+89.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$44.62 SAR167.58	$33.40 CN¥244.47	-25.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,543.44 SAR95,931.19	$20,872.18 CN¥152,796.87	-18.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.12 SAR68.06	$4.59 CN¥33.62	-74.7%
Average			-7.2%

Saudi Arabia vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.3% more for housing

	Saudi Arabia	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.43 SAR279.52	$13.28 CN¥97.24	-82.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.32 SAR1,443.37	$929.88 CN¥6,807.27	+142.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$279.56 SAR1,049.94	$492.44 CN¥3,604.97	+76.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$85.15 SAR319.79	$42.04 CN¥307.76	-50.6%
Average			+21.3%

Saudi Arabia vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Saudi Arabia	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$303.07 SAR1,138.21	$763.49 CN¥5,589.24	+151.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,063.63 SAR22,772.62	$22,913.01 CN¥167,737.01	+277.9%
Average			+214.9%

Saudi Arabia vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Saudi Arabia	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.70 SAR6.40	$1.11 CN¥8.15	-34.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 SAR13.39	$3.60 CN¥26.38	+1.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.18 SAR26.97	$3.48 CN¥25.47	-51.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$98.57 SAR370.20	$65.46 CN¥479.18	-33.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.63 SAR62.45	$8.35 CN¥61.12	-49.8%
Average			-33.7%

Saudi Arabia vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.2% more for clothing

	Saudi Arabia	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$42.91 SAR161.15	$62.65 CN¥458.67	+46.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$58.28 SAR218.86	$34.69 CN¥253.93	-40.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.66 SAR344.23	$83.45 CN¥610.93	-9.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.88 SAR296.24	$107.64 CN¥787.96	+36.5%
Average			+8.2%

Saudi Arabia 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: January 2025

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