China vs India - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

China India
🚶 Cost of living one person
$686
$440
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1939
$1134
🏠 One person rent
$292
$181
🏘️ Family rent
$561
$398
🍽️ Food expenses
$239
$168
🚐 Transport expenses
$73.6
$47.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$864
$670
💸 GDP per capita
$12614
$2485
😃 Human freedom index
5.15
6.29
❤️ Life expectancy
78.6
67.7
👮 Corruption perceptions index
42
39
🌐 English speaking %
0.7%
10.6%
🎓 Higher education
91
74
😀 Quality of life
48
41
🏙️ Population
1.44B
1.33B

The average cost of living in China ($686) is 56% more expensive than in India ($440). China ranked 144th vs 192nd 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 1.5 months in India. Ranked 84th and 113th 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

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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
$3.44
$3.02
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$22.8
$14.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.19
$4.14
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.31
$2.18
 Cappuccino
$3.2
$1.9
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.51
$0.43
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$331
$199
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$222
$130
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$676
$518
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$449
$302
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$35.3
$28.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$54.3
$44.4
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$12.6
$8.35
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.4%
8.82%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4645
$2003
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2808
$1064
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.37
$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$21.7
$11.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.18
$3.14
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.18
$1.22
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.86
$0.71
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.58
$0.5
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.03
$0.71
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.68
$1
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.9
$5.57
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.5
$3.35
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.8
$5.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$2.06
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.32
$0.72
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$1.09
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
$0.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.8
$0.39
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.94
$0.43
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.23
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.22
$1.05
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.1
$8.74
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.82
$1.95
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.38
$3.84
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.91
$1.83
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.61
$2.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.47
$1.81
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.67
$0.89
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$39.7
$17.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.15
$3.72
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$34
$15
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.59
$2.66
👖 Brand Jeans
$54.2
$26.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$77.5
$46.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$461
$71.5
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$17526
$1862

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
Shanghai
$1136
24.9M
Beijing
$1067
21.9M
Hong Kong
$2753
7.41M
Shenzhen
$958
17.7M
Chongqing
$662
32.1M
Guangzhou
$763
18.7M
Chengdu
$660
20.9M
Tianjin
$710
13.9M
Hangzhou
$843
11.9M
Suzhou
$1020
12.7M
Xi'an
$594
13M
Wuhan
$692
12.3M
Baoding
$482
11.5M
Nantong
$620
7.73M
Wuxi
$686
7.46M
Pudong
$1028
5.68M
Bijie
$612
6.9M
Zhengzhou
$522
12.6M
Nanjing
$774
9.31M
Hefei
$727
9.37M
Qingdao
$681
10.1M
Changchun
$601
9.07M
Ganzhou
$813
8.97M
Guiyang
$576
5.99M
Foshan
$602
9.5M
Yantai
$740
7.1M
Jieyang
$691
5.58M
Changsha
$582
10M
Wenzhou
$776
9.57M
Xuzhou
$528
9.08M

In India

City Cost of living Population
Delhi
$505
26.5M
Bangalore
$578
12.3M
Mumbai
$716
15.4M
Hyderabad
$488
9.31M
Pune
$519
5.95M
Chennai
$433
6.6M
Ahmedabad
$471
7.65M
Surat
$785
5.94M
Kolkata
$408
4.5M
Jaipur
$395
3.07M
Nagpur
$403
2.41M
Lucknow
$393
3.38M
Visakhapatnam
$400
2.04M
Mirzapur
$365
2.5M
Thane
$484
1.89M
Gurgaon
$533
877K
Ghaziabad
$391
2.38M
Vadodara
$406
2.07M
Indore
$379
1.99M
Mysore
$325
1.27M
Navi Mumbai
$480
1.12M
Kalyan
$396
1.25M
Kanpur
$329
3.07M
Bhopal
$367
1.8M
Rajkot
$326
2.04M
Nashik
$346
1.49M
Varanasi
$316
1.2M
Bilaspur
$387
1.63M
Agra
$360
1.59M
Faridabad
$383
1.4M