China vs India - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

China India
🚶 Cost of living one person
$679
$441
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1883
$1116
🏠 One person rent
$287
$182
🏘️ Family rent
$532
$379
🍽️ Food expenses
$238
$169
🚐 Transport expenses
$72.6
$48.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$826
$677
💸 GDP per capita
$12720
$2411
😃 Human freedom index
5.15
6.29
❤️ Life expectancy
78.2
67.2
👮 Corruption perceptions index
42
39
🌐 English speaking %
0.7%
10.6%
🎓 Higher education
91
74
😀 Quality of life
50
44
🏙️ Population
1.44B
1.33B

The average cost of living in China ($679) is 54% more expensive than in India ($441). China ranked 138th vs 191st for India in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.2 months in China compared to 1.5 months in India. Ranked 83rd and 109th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in China vs India infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in China vs India

We calculate prices for China and India as a population-weighted mean of 544 and 220 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

China India
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.65
$3.03
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$21.9
$14.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.05
$4.2
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.34
$2.22
 Cappuccino
$3.3
$1.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.48
$0.44
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$334
$202
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$214
$133
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$653
$512
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$416
$288
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$36.8
$29
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$56.6
$44.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$12.8
$8.56
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.73%
8.89%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5178
$2187
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2803
$1082
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.37
$0.43
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$21.7
$11.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.1
$3.22
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.16
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.87
$0.7
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.52
$0.49
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.04
$0.67
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.71
$0.97
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.2
$5.62
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.69
$3.41
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.9
$5.95
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.67
$2
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.28
$0.72
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.55
$1.1
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.22
$0.55
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.8
$0.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.92
$0.4
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.4
$0.23
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.19
$1.02
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.5
$8.98
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.82
$1.94
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.23
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.83
$1.97
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.55
$2.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.45
$1.71
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.64
$0.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$38.3
$18
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.98
$3.73
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$33.7
$12.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.51
$2.92
👖 Brand Jeans
$53.1
$27.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$75.9
$46.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$444
$74
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$16225
$2011

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in China vs India

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In China

City Cost of living Population
Beijing
$1065
21.9M
Shanghai
$1190
24.9M
Hong Kong
$2614
7.41M
Shenzhen
$939
17.5M
Chongqing
$712
32.1M
Guangzhou
$742
18.7M
Chengdu
$643
20.9M
Tianjin
$688
13.9M
Xi'an
$632
13M
Suzhou
$1020
12.7M
Hangzhou
$831
11.9M
Baoding
$466
11.5M
Wuhan
$646
12.3M
Wuxi
$687
7.46M
Foshan
$575
9.5M
Nanjing
$740
9.31M
Bijie
$606
6.9M
Dongguan
$589
10.5M
Hefei
$707
9.37M
Ganzhou
$812
8.97M
Changchun
$612
9.07M
Nantong
$651
7.73M
Qingdao
$653
10.1M
Jieyang
$716
6.09M
Changsha
$533
10M
Yantai
$749
7.1M
Zhengzhou
$506
12.6M
Guiyang
$564
5.99M
Ningbo
$677
9.4M
Kunming
$609
8.46M

In India

City Cost of living Population
Delhi
$484
26.5M
Bangalore
$585
12.3M
Mumbai
$706
15.4M
Chennai
$434
10.3M
Hyderabad
$470
9.31M
Pune
$510
5.95M
Ahmedabad
$505
7.65M
Surat
$809
5.94M
Kolkata
$399
4.5M
Lucknow
$374
3.38M
Jaipur
$392
3.07M
Kanpur
$301
3.81M
Visakhapatnam
$422
2.04M
Thane
$482
1.89M
Nagpur
$409
2.41M
Mirzapur
$363
2.5M
Ghaziabad
$423
2.38M
Kalyan
$391
1.25M
Gurgaon
$522
877K
Navi Mumbai
$457
1.12M
Indore
$390
1.99M
Vadodara
$399
2.07M
Mysore
$321
1.26M
Jamshedpur
$328
1.56M
Agra
$361
1.59M
Madurai
$309
1.56M
Nashik
$377
1.49M
Bhopal
$334
1.8M
Meerut
$362
1.31M
Bilaspur
$354
1.63M