Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kiribati and China

Name: China
Address: CN

For one person, living is cheaper in China: $791 a month against $1,713 in Kiribati, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Kiribati
Learn more

Kiribati Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in China
Learn more

China Living Index

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🇰🇮 Kiribati

$1,713

/mo nomad

🇨🇳 China

$791

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kiribati and in China

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,713 in Kiribati versus $791 in China.

Kiribati $1,713
China $791

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,652 in Kiribati versus $1,251 in China.

Kiribati $2,652
China $1,251

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,590 in Kiribati versus $1,711 in China.

Kiribati $3,590
China $1,711

Internal cost variation is higher in China: monthly costs span $465 to $1,222, compared to $1,694–$1,694 in Kiribati. City choice carries more weight in China.

Living in Kiribati is roughly 116% more expensive than in China on average.

Kiribati (26% above) and China (42% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.14 KID 7.30

$2.98 ¥19.81

72.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.31 KID 40.20

$22.09 ¥147

28.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 KID 14.77

$5.20 ¥34.60

100.00%

Cappuccino

$3.25 KID 4.61

$2.97 ¥19.74

9.43%

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

$1.03 KID 1.46

$0.48 ¥3.19

114.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 KID 1.07

$0.30 ¥2.01

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 KID 5.49

$1.08 ¥7.18

258.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 KID 8.90

$2.28 ¥15.15

175.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.29 KID 3.25

$1.80 ¥11.96

27.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.08 KID 2.95

$1.68 ¥11.15

23.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 KID 2.05

$0.92 ¥6.13

57.61%

Eggs

$6.82 KID 9.69

$1.61 ¥10.73

323.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.40 KID 24.71

$13.38 ¥89.1

30.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.79 KID 8.22

$3.35 ¥22.28

72.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.46 KID 27.64

$11.35 ¥75.5

71.45%

Apples (1kg)

$6.87 KID 9.75

$1.82 ¥12.12

277.47%

Banana (1kg)

$3.57 KID 5.07

$1.31 ¥8.69

172.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.07 KID 8.62

$1.49 ¥9.89

307.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.61 KID 7.97

$1.27 ¥8.47

341.73%

Potato (1kg)

$4.71 KID 6.68

$0.71 ¥4.73

563.38%

Onion (1kg)

$3.09 KID 4.38

$0.93 ¥6.21

232.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.27 KID 4.64

$0.62 ¥4.12

427.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.33 KID 0.47

$0.56 ¥3.74

-41.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.18 KID 8.78

$3.78 ¥25.15

63.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.14 KID 18.66

$12.13 ¥80.8

8.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 KID 2.52

$0.83 ¥5.54

114.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 KID 4.89

$1.68 ¥11.21

105.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.72 KID 2.44

$0.29 ¥1.92

493.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.1 KID 108

$17.83 ¥119

326.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 KID 3.07

$1.49 ¥9.89

44.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 KID 2.59

$0.37 ¥2.49

394.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.10 ¥47.24

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 KID 2.91

$1.26 ¥8.37

62.70%

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

$28.4K KID 40.4K

$19.4K ¥129.4K

46.24%

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

$24.2K KID 34.4K

$17.5K ¥116.7K

38.00%

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

$317 KID 450

$54.6 ¥363

480.26%

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

$8.73 ¥58.1

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.61 KID 5.13

$11.07 ¥73.7

-67.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.10 KID 49.85

$40.77 ¥271

-13.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.51 KID 34.81

$14.48 ¥96.4

69.27%

Cinema Ticket

$4.52 KID 6.41

$6.78 ¥45.12

-33.33%

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

$270 KID 384

$517 ¥3,438

-47.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,640 KID 8,009

$19.8K ¥131.8K

-71.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 KID 74.0

$46.53 ¥310

12.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.1 KID 74.0

$35.66 ¥237

46.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.3 KID 120

$77.0 ¥512

9.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.2 KID 91.2

$80.3 ¥534

-19.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$837 KID 1,189

$386 ¥2,567

117.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$587 KID 834

$235 ¥1,561

150.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,479 KID 2,100

$822 ¥5,469

79.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,317 KID 1,870

$453 ¥3,015

190.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,576 KID 6,497

$4,697 ¥31.3K

-2.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,434 KID 4,876

$2,372 ¥15.8K

44.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$348 KID 495

$1,093 ¥7,275

-68.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

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

Last update for Kiribati: October 26, 2026

Last update for China: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kiribati

$587 34.3%

China

$235 29.6% 60.1% $353

Groceries & Markets

Kiribati

$404 23.6%

China

$210 26.5% 48% $194

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kiribati

$320 * 18.7%

China

$74 9.4% 76.8% $246

Eating Out

Kiribati

$150 8.8%

China

$88 11.1% 41.4% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Kiribati

$114 6.6%

China

$108 13.6% 5.3% $6

Getting Around

Kiribati

$94 5.5%

China

$22 2.8% 76.3% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Kiribati

$44 2.6%

China

$54 6.9% 23.1% $10

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

Cost Breakdown

National salary averages: $348 in Kiribati, $873 in China. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 178% higher in Kiribati.

Dining out costs 45% more in Kiribati.

Public transport is 317% more expensive in Kiribati.

Salaries are about 2.5 times higher in China, and purchasing power comes out stronger in China.

Good to know

🇰🇮 Kiribati

🇨🇳 China

🕒 Local time

13:01 1:01 PM

09:01 9:01 AM

4 h behind Kiribati

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

119,438

1,442,965,000

💱 Currency

Kiribati Dollar KID $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 KID = 0.704 USD

1 KID = 0.633 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to KID – Kiribati Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇮 Kiribati Dollar ($)

Kiribati Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 KID (1 KID = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 KID (1 KID = 0.633 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to KID in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kiribati China 7,130 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Kiribati
China

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

Kiribati vs China: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $791 per month in China and $1,713 in Kiribati, China comes out about 54% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in China: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $829 in Kiribati and $298 in China. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

It depends on what you’re after: China wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.