Cost of Living in Suzhou, 🇨🇳 China - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 2 3 16 $869 $629 $1,422 $344 $97

Utilities 2 1 — $82 $135 $61 —

Internet & Mobile 1 10 2 $31 $24 $37 $24 $0

Groceries 1 16 $165 $200 $450 $165 $8

Transportation 6 7 1 $87 $60 $180 $44 $15

Dining Out 1 16 $505 $359 $779 $135 $27

Leisure Activities 18 1 12 $99 $129 $2,826 $57 $13

Health Insurance 9 $63 $120 $374 $30 $2

Visa & Legal Fees 11 15 — $2 $8 — —

Total $1,819 $1,605 $6,211 $860 $162

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 2 3 16 $344.43 $257 – $357 per month

Coworking Space 4 5 $127.23 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 2 16 $868.61 $824 – $974 per month

Coliving Space 2 $362.24 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 14 1 $3.57 per cup

Beer 1 16 $1.06 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 1 16 $4.10 per meal

Fast Food Combo 1 16 $5.58 per meal

Apples 1 21 $1.90 per kg

Bread 1 31 $1.74 per loaf

Milk 1 31 $2.01 per liter

Rice 1 31 $1.26 per kg

Chicken Fillets 1 31 $3.52 per kg

Beef 30 1 $8.83 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 1 29 31 $10.30 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 1 16 $31.20 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 24 1 $0.52 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 7 $1.95 per trip

Taxi per km 7 $0.37 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 6 1 $44.30 per month

Gasoline 19 8 $1.37 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 7 $2.99 per trip

Scooter Rental 13 $8.27 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 10 $13.17 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 2 $11.10 per month

Gym Membership 18 $35.77 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 2 $14.97 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 10 $13.17 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 20 32 $5.87 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 1 28 $51.20 per pair

Summer Dress 27 1 $35.77 per dress

Running Shoes 22 1 $82.70 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 25 1 $8.02 per visit

Laundry 26 1 $2.47 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 17 $7.48 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 1 23 $4.33 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 6.6807 CNY on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Beijing, Chengdu, Hanoi, Tokyo

Livingcost Suzhou basket (updated Jun 2026)Index
Suzhou rental bands and utility ranges (2026)Secondary
Lianjia branded apartments Suzhou (e.g. Longfor Guanyu ¥1,900–2,383/mo)Listings
Suzhou coworking desk from ¥280/mo, median ¥850/moListings
WeWork Suzhou Innovation Center fixed desk from ¥1,200/moListings
Suzhou rail transit distance fares and volume discountsOfficial
Suzhou taxi ¥13 + ¥2.50/km from 1 Jan 2025Secondary
China Octane-95 CNY 9.24/L, Oct 2026Index
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
Foreign visitor SIM purchase in China (operator-set packs)Official
China visa-free entry up to 30 days through 31 Dec 2026Official
OCAC Suzhou primary tuition ¥98,400/year (2025-26)Official
HelloBike 30-day e-bike pass ¥55.2Official
Starbucks China Tall Cappuccino ¥30 (Oct 2026)Secondary
China visa fee schedule USD 23 single entry (to Dec 2026)Official
Everycity Suzhou May 2026 rent and cost cross-checkSecondary
Beijing ordinary outpatient medical fee ¥50 (public tier cross-check)Official
Leke Fitness standard month ¥239 (national APP price)Secondary
Jiangsu 95-octane max retail ¥9.12/L (24 Sep 2026)Official
Wanda member 2D from ¥24.9; holiday ¥26.9Secondary
JD 京鲜生红富士 9斤 ¥35.8 (national JD self-operated)Shop
Nike Revolution 8 men road running shoe ¥289–499Shop
999感冒灵颗粒 10g×9袋 from ¥12.80Shop
Cestbon purified water 1.5L ¥3.50Shop
Udream (优剪) chain haircut ¥38–58/visitSecondary
JD Laundry platform wash from ¥16.5/item (2026)Secondary
ZARA summer dress ¥239Shop
Levi's 501 jeans listing ¥499Shop
Tmall 张裕多名利干红 750ml ¥36.93Shop
JD imported beef brisket 1kg ¥53.93Shop
ExpatDen China grocery and service price bands (Oct 2026)Secondary
Suzhou Wanda cinemas from ¥31–49/ticket (360 Maps)Secondary

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 1087.08 868.61
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 550.79 344.43
- Apples 2.03 1.9
- Beef 13.77 8.83
- Beer 2.17 1.06
40 more changes
- Bread 2.61 1.74
- Chicken Fillets 4.64 3.52
- Cinema Ticket 7.97 5.87
- Coffee 4.06 3.57
- Coliving Space 463.82 362.24
- Coworking Space 173.93 127.23
- Dining Out local 86.97, nomad 550.79, expat 289.89, family 652.25, tourist 50.73 local 134.72, nomad 505.2, expat 359.24, family 778.66, tourist 26.94
- Doctor Visit (GP) 50.73 7.48
- Fast Food Combo 6.09 5.58
- Gasoline 1.23 1.37
- Groceries local 173.93, nomad 86.97, expat 362.36, family 797.19, tourist 4.35 local 165, expat 200, family 450, tourist 8
- Gym Membership 65.23 35.77
- Haircut 12.32 8.02
- Health Insurance local 28.99, nomad 65.23, expat 115.96, family 362.36, tourist 0 local 29.93, nomad 62.72, expat 119.75, family 374.21, tourist 2.09
- Housing local 405.84, nomad 942.14, expat 724.72, family 1376.97, tourist 94.21 local 344.43, nomad 868.61, expat 628.66, family 1422.01, tourist 97.29
- Internet & Mobile local 11.6, nomad 50.73, expat 21.74, family 40.58, tourist 5.8 local 24.27, nomad 31.28, family 37.43, tourist 0.44
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 15.22 11.1
- Jeans 65.23 51.2
- Laundry 1.74 2.47
- Leisure Activities local 43.48, nomad 260.9, expat 173.93, family 434.83, tourist 17.39 local 56.61, nomad 98.81, expat 128.75, family 2826.05, tourist 12.73
- Meal (Inexpensive) 5.07 4.1
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 50.73 31.2
- Milk 2.32 2.01
- Mobile Plan 11.31 13.17
- Monthly Transport Pass 26.09 44.3
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 5.8 4.33
- Rice 1.09 1.26
- Ride-hailing (5km) 2.61 2.99
- Running Shoes 94.21 82.7
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 14.49 13.17
- Scooter Rental 6.52 8.27
- Summer Dress 40.58 35.77
- Taxi Start 1.74 1.95
- Taxi per km 0.35 0.37
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 14.49 14.97
- Transportation local 21.74, nomad 86.97, expat 72.47, family 318.88, tourist 14.49 local 44.3, nomad 86.82, expat 59.87, family 179.62, tourist 14.97
- Utilities local 36.24, nomad 0, expat 79.72, family 130.45, tourist 0 local 60.5, nomad 0, expat 82.33, family 134.72, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 43.48, expat 28.99, family 86.97, tourist 1.45 local 0, expat 1.92, family 7.67
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.65 0.52
- Wine (Mid-range) 18.84 10.3
Apartment (1 bedroom), Coworking Space, Bread, Rice, Wine (Mid-range), Mobile Plan, Cinema Ticket, Utilities, Transportation, Dining Out, Leisure Activities, Health Insurance tourist, Coliving Space, Haircut and Laundry moved ≥15% vs generated baseline (lifetourchina.com, workin.space, livingcost.org, fg.suzhou.gov.cn, safetywing.com).

Suzhou cost of living