Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Beijing (Pekin) and Wenzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Wenzhou: $628 a month against $1,184 in Beijing (Pekin), rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Beijing (Pekin)
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Beijing (Pekin) Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Wenzhou
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Wenzhou Living Index

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Beijing (Pekin)

🇨🇳 China

$1,184

/mo nomad

Wenzhou

🇨🇳 China

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Beijing (Pekin) and in Wenzhou

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Beijing (Pekin) and in Wenzhou actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,184 per month in Beijing (Pekin) vs $628 in Wenzhou, rent included.

Beijing (Pekin) $1,184
Wenzhou $628

A couple spends around $1,916 per month in Beijing (Pekin) vs $1,059 in Wenzhou, rent included.

Beijing (Pekin) $1,916
Wenzhou $1,059

A family of three spends $2,647 per month in Beijing (Pekin) vs $1,489 in Wenzhou, rent included.

Beijing (Pekin) $2,647
Wenzhou $1,489

Beijing (Pekin) costs about 88% more than Wenzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Beijing (Pekin) and Wenzhou are more affordable than the global median – Beijing (Pekin) 12% lower, Wenzhou 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ¥29.86

$3.01 ¥20.10

48.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.66 ¥198

$30.38 ¥203

-2.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.21 ¥34.80

$7.66 ¥51.2

-31.98%

Cappuccino

$3.72 ¥24.86

$2.65 ¥17.75

40.38%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ¥3.34

$0.52 ¥3.50

-3.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 ¥1.73

$0.30 ¥2.02

-13.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 ¥7.84

$0.86 ¥5.73

36.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 ¥11.07

$3.03 ¥20.28

-45.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ¥11.05

$2.08 ¥13.94

-20.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 ¥11.74

$1.95 ¥13.01

-9.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.27 ¥8.51

$1.31 ¥8.78

-3.05%

Eggs

$1.88 ¥12.55

$1.98 ¥13.21

-5.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.65 ¥98.0

$7.61 ¥50.9

92.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.15 ¥21.03

$2.18 ¥14.61

44.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.03 ¥73.8

$9.49 ¥63.4

16.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 ¥13.53

$1.90 ¥12.74

6.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 ¥11.47

$1.79 ¥11.95

-3.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 ¥13.94

$1.69 ¥11.31

23.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.55 ¥10.35

$1.12 ¥7.46

38.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 ¥4.82

$0.61 ¥4.09

18.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 ¥5.68

$0.72 ¥4.81

18.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 ¥4.60

$0.47 ¥3.12

46.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 ¥4.10

$0.59 ¥3.95

3.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 ¥28.88

$3.37 ¥22.57

28.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.10 ¥94.3

$13.24 ¥88.5

6.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 ¥6.76

$1.22 ¥8.16

-17.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ¥12.17

$1.23 ¥8.21

47.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 ¥4.67

$0.29 ¥1.91

141.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.48 ¥231

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 ¥12.84

$1.68 ¥11.25

14.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 ¥2.19

$0.35 ¥2.35

-5.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.67 ¥51.3

$7.75 ¥51.8

-1.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.93

$1.26 ¥8.46

6.35%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.3K ¥128.9K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

-1.15%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$18.3K ¥122.3K

$15.5K ¥103.9K

17.71%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$57.3 ¥383

$29.91 ¥200

91.64%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$9.13 ¥61.0

$6.60 ¥44.11

38.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.22 ¥95.1

$8.89 ¥59.4

59.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.34 ¥283

$13.62 ¥91.1

210.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.61 ¥165

$26.79 ¥179

-8.14%

Cinema Ticket

$7.40 ¥49.48

$7.60 ¥50.8

-2.63%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$660 ¥4,410

$1,247 ¥8,340

-47.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.2K ¥161.9K

$9,703 ¥64.9K

149.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.8 ¥467

$43.55 ¥291

60.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.69 ¥265

$18.78 ¥126

111.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.9 ¥594

$96.5 ¥645

-7.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 ¥849

$44.71 ¥299

183.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$940 ¥6,286

$240 ¥1,603

292.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$524 ¥3,501

$170 ¥1,135

208.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,319 ¥15.5K

$632 ¥4,228

266.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,128 ¥7,542

$363 ¥2,428

210.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.4K ¥82.8K

$4,065 ¥27.2K

204.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,284 ¥42.0K

$2,598 ¥17.4K

141.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,713 ¥11.5K

$868 ¥5,803

97.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.12

3.46

-9.83%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Beijing (Pekin): October 11, 2026

Last update for Wenzhou: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Beijing (Pekin)

$524 44.2%

Wenzhou

$170 27% 67.6% $354

Groceries & Markets

Beijing (Pekin)

$227 19.2%

Wenzhou

$196 31.1% 13.8% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Beijing (Pekin)

$146 12.4%

Wenzhou

$92 14.6% 37.4% $55

Eating Out

Beijing (Pekin)

$108 9.1%

Wenzhou

$93 14.7% 14.5% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Beijing (Pekin)

$81 6.8%

Wenzhou

$45 7.2% 43.7% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Beijing (Pekin)

$57 4.8%

Wenzhou

$29 4.6% 49.6% $28

Getting Around

Beijing (Pekin)

$41 3.5%

Wenzhou

$4.6 * 0.7% 88.8% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $940 in Beijing (Pekin) versus $240 in Wenzhou. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 97% higher in Beijing (Pekin), which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Beijing (Pekin) versus $30.00 in Wenzhou. Groceries tell a different story – $227 in Beijing (Pekin) vs $196 in Wenzhou – so Wenzhou wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Beijing (Pekin)

🇨🇳 Wenzhou

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

Same time as Beijing (Pekin)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,893,095 Capital

9,300,000

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Beijing (Pekin) Wenzhou 1,380 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Beijing (Pekin)
Wenzhou

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Beijing (Pekin) vs Wenzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Beijing (Pekin) is pricier by about 88%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,775 per month in Beijing (Pekin) and $942 in Wenzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Wenzhou, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Beijing (Pekin) and $30.00 in Wenzhou. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 16% more in Beijing (Pekin), though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Wenzhou, where all-in costs run around $628, than in Beijing (Pekin) at $1,184. In Wenzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Beijing (Pekin) it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Wenzhou – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Wenzhou. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Beijing (Pekin) makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.