China vs India - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

China India
🚶 Cost of living one person
$663
$409
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1807
$965
🏠 One person rent
$276
$167
🏘️ Family rent
$463
$272
🍽️ Food expenses
$235
$158
🚐 Transport expenses
$72.4
$43.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$868
$248
💸 GDP per capita
$13303
$2695
😃 Human freedom index
4.93
6.26
❤️ Life expectancy
78
72
👮 Corruption perceptions index
43
39
🌐 English speaking %
0.7%
18.9%
🎓 Higher education
88
73
😀 Quality of life
52
43
🏙️ Population
1.41B
1.45B

The average cost of living in China ($663) is 62% more expensive than in India ($409). China ranked 158th vs 193rd 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 1.3 months in China compared to 0.6 months in India. Ranked 85th and 120th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$3.15
$2.81
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$21.8
$13.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.04
$3.94
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.32
$2.12
 Cappuccino
$2.84
$1.9
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.51
$0.41
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$316
$184
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$209
$121
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$687
$529
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$419
$294
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$35.8
$25.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$55.1
$38.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$11
$7.48
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.45%
8.96%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4148
$1729
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2286
$868
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.37
$0.33
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$20.7
$9.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.21
$3.12
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.19
$1.07
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.78
$0.66
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.68
$0.48
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.01
$0.68
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.59
$0.95
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$5.01
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.58
$3.09
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11
$5.71
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$1.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.25
$0.68
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1.06
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.27
$0.5
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.76
$0.35
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.92
$0.4
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.39
$0.2
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.27
$0.96
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12
$7.79
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.86
$1.75
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.51
$4.22
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.2
$1.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.85
$2.68
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.53
$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.74
$0.77
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$39.7
$16.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.26
$3.49
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$34.5
$15.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.76
$2.47
👖 Brand Jeans
$46.5
$23.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$73.8
$45.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$479
$70.1
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$17696
$2142

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
Chongqing
$631
32.1M
Shanghai
$1147
24.9M
Chengdu
$688
20.9M
Guangzhou
$785
18.7M
Suzhou
$798
12.7M
Beijing
$1108
21.9M
Shenzhen
$995
17.5M
Tianjin
$682
13.9M
Wuhan
$657
12.3M
Baoding
$480
11.5M
Xi'an
$594
13M
Nanjing
$789
9.31M
Zhengzhou
$523
12.6M
Qingdao
$649
10.1M
Ningbo
$660
9.4M
Hangzhou
$899
11.9M
Changsha
$622
10M
Nantong
$581
7.73M
Shenyang
$612
9.07M
Hefei
$670
9.37M
Jinan
$546
9.2M
Harbin
$713
10M
Linyi
$523
11M
Dongguan
$694
10.5M
Shijiazhuang
$521
10.6M
Changchun
$607
9.07M
Xuzhou
$531
9.08M
Fuzhou
$679
8.29M
Dalian
$737
7.45M
Wenzhou
$774
9.57M

In India

City Cost of living Population
Delhi
$479
26.5M
Mumbai
$717
15.4M
Bangalore
$507
12.3M
Hyderabad
$444
9.19M
Ahmedabad
$433
7.65M
Chennai
$409
6.6M
Surat
$663
5.94M
Pune
$495
6.2M
Kanpur
$308
4.58M
Kolkata
$362
4.5M
Lucknow
$326
3.38M
Jaipur
$384
3.07M
Vadodara
$358
3.1M
Ghaziabad
$368
2.38M
Nagpur
$528
2.41M
Rajkot
$298
2.04M
Indore
$346
1.99M
Agra
$352
1.59M
Patna
$293
1.68M
Visakhapatnam
$331
2.04M
Thane
$464
1.89M
Bhopal
$335
1.8M
Meerut
$335
1.57M
Ludhiana
$391
1.62M
Madurai
$342
1.56M
Jamshedpur
$339
1.56M
Jodhpur
$312
1.51M
Allahabad
$291
1.54M
Faridabad
$344
1.4M
Nashik
$329
1.49M