Beijing vs London - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Beijing	London
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1029	$3851
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2645	$8597
🏠 One person rent	$589	$2689
🏘️ Family rent	$1040	$4575
🍽️ Food expenses	$246	$592
🚐 Transport expenses	$98	$400
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$658	$4336
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	100	100
😀 Quality of life	73	99
🏙️ Population	21.9M	8.8M

The cost of living in Beijing is 73% less expensive than in London. Cities ranked 5355th and 8th ($1029 vs $3851) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 1st in China and the United Kingdom, respectively. Check China vs the United Kingdom comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Beijing compared to 1.1 months in London. Beijing ranked 11th best city to live in China vs London ranked 1st in the United Kingdom, while ranked 2546th and 5th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Beijing vs London infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/beijing/london.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Beijing vs London infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/beijing/london" target="_blank">Beijing vs London - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Beijing vs London

Prices for goods and services in Beijing and London are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Beijing	London
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$4.24	$22.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$27.8	$91.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.16	$10.2
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.12	$9.11
☕ Cappuccino	$2.82	$5.24
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.49	$3.08
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$850	$3237
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$469	$2291
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1549	$4710
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$839	$4163
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$30.5	$170
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$46.5	$264
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$13.3	$39.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.51%	4.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$14720	$21687
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6180	$11040
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.56	$4.04
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$31.3	$101
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$4.61	$31.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.1	$1.85
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.82	$1.65
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.69	$2.11
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.1	$2.38
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.84	$5.16
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.3	$12
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.4	$9.17
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.5	$15.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.21	$3.05
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.65	$1.72
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.76	$3.18
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.34	$3.28
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.77	$1.43
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.88	$1.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.37	$1.2
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.18	$3.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.33	$13.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.79	$3.12
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.04	$22.4
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.55	$4.31
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.55	$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.7	$2.76
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.96	$2.97
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$59.4	$59
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.35	$18.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$33.7	$69.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.03	$16.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$61.1	$110
👟 Brand Sneakers	$78.2	$120
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$713	$2511
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$22823	$27583

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Beijing

Distance	City	Cost of living
50 km or 31 mi	Langfang	$707
58 km or 36 mi	Zhuozhou	$724
58 km or 36 mi	Sanhe	$750
78 km or 49 mi	Gaobeidian	$634
87 km or 54 mi	Bazhou	$634
109 km or 68 mi	Tianjin	$646
135 km or 84 mi	Renqiu	$565
137 km or 85 mi	Zunhua	$660
139 km or 87 mi	Baoding	$456
151 km or 94 mi	Binhai	$641
155 km or 97 mi	Tangshan	$688
163 km or 101 mi	Zhangjiakou	$652
164 km or 102 mi	Hejian	$558
176 km or 110 mi	Chengde	$694
182 km or 113 mi	Cangzhou	$638
189 km or 117 mi	Huanghua	$619
189 km or 118 mi	Anguo	$533
196 km or 122 mi	Dingzhou	$574
197 km or 122 mi	Qian'an	$616
198 km or 123 mi	Luanzhou	$614
204 km or 127 mi	Botou	$564
224 km or 139 mi	Shenzhou	$505
228 km or 142 mi	Xinle	$535
229 km or 142 mi	Pingquan	$615
239 km or 148 mi	Jinzhou	$527
241 km or 150 mi	Xinji	$523
249 km or 155 mi	Gaocheng	$527
249 km or 155 mi	Hengshui	$454
252 km or 156 mi	Laoling	$580
263 km or 164 mi	Shijiazhuang	$505
265 km or 165 mi	Datong	$748
272 km or 169 mi	Jizhou	$499
273 km or 169 mi	Qinhuangdao	$558
273 km or 170 mi	Dezhou	$480
281 km or 175 mi	Fengzhen	$642
282 km or 175 mi	Huairen	$654
294 km or 183 mi	Lingyuan	$601
296 km or 184 mi	Nangong	$550
302 km or 187 mi	Ulanqab	$629
314 km or 195 mi	Binzhou	$741

Cities near London

Distance	City	Cost of living
1.3 km or 0.8 mi	Westminster	$2960
11 km or 7 mi	Wimbledon	$2512
13 km or 8.3 mi	Richmond	$2449
15 km or 9.3 mi	Croydon	$2514
16 km or 10 mi	Greenford	$2435
19 km or 12 mi	Ewell	$2367
21 km or 13 mi	Coulsdon	$2352
23 km or 14 mi	Esher	$2337
24 km or 15 mi	Walton-on-Thames	$2326
25 km or 15 mi	Watford	$2633
27 km or 17 mi	Upminster	$2299
28 km or 17 mi	Rickmansworth	$2374
31 km or 19 mi	St Albans	$2456
32 km or 20 mi	Grays	$2200
32 km or 20 mi	Hertford	$2197
32 km or 20 mi	Slough	$2273
32 km or 20 mi	Brentwood	$2655
35 km or 22 mi	Harlow	$2091
35 km or 22 mi	Gravesend	$2176
35 km or 22 mi	Hemel Hempstead	$2274
37 km or 23 mi	Woking	$2515
38 km or 24 mi	Harpenden	$2224
40 km or 25 mi	Billericay	$2205
41 km or 25 mi	Maidenhead	$2785
43 km or 27 mi	East Grinstead	$2206
43 km or 27 mi	Basildon	$2164
43 km or 27 mi	Guildford	$2559
44 km or 27 mi	Crawley	$2275
44 km or 27 mi	Stevenage	$2223
44 km or 27 mi	Bracknell	$2469
44 km or 28 mi	Rochester	$1780
44 km or 28 mi	Tonbridge	$2118
45 km or 28 mi	High Wycombe	$2122
46 km or 28 mi	Bishop's Stortford	$2132
46 km or 28 mi	Luton	$2160
47 km or 29 mi	Chatham	$2419
49 km or 30 mi	Chelmsford	$2000
49 km or 30 mi	Gillingham	$2245
49 km or 30 mi	Godalming	$2416
49 km or 31 mi	Farnborough	$2165