Cost of living comparison

Nigeria

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Abuja Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 35.3% more expensive than Abuja.

Restaurants: pay 51.1% more in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 16.5% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 16.9% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 31.9% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 16.6 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.9% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 5.4% more in Shanghai

The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, and clothing in Shanghai are more expensive than in Abuja. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Shanghai.

Planning a move to China? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Shanghai vs. Abuja Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Abuja, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.1% more for restaurants

	Abuja	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.00 NGN2,662.42	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+123.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.00 NGN5,324.84	$5.22 CN¥34.93	+30.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 NGN650.79	$0.60 CN¥4.01	+22.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 NGN928.07	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-46.9%
Average			+51.1%

Abuja vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.5% less for groceries

	Abuja	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.32 NGN1,752.51	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+50.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.51 NGN7,338.86	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+56.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.88 NGN18,480.74	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-50.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.83 NGN2,442.20	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-7.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.39 NGN3,184.67	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-38.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 NGN1,224.04	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+8.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.66 NGN883.74	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+16.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 NGN908.26	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+32.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.05 NGN1,394.13	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-26.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 NGN1,104.11	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-56.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 NGN1,468.62	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-60.7%
Average			-16.5%

Abuja vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.9% more for transportation

	Abuja	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.14 NGN2,847.35	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+132.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.78 NGN43,636.37	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-9.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,143.00 NGN35M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-25.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.30 NGN9,713.27	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-22.3%
Average			+16.9%

Abuja vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.9% more for housing

	Abuja	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.15 NGN38,810.71	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-63.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$596.02 NGN793K	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+74.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.58 NGN467K	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+67.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.28 NGN115K	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-48.9%
Average			+31.9%

Abuja vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.6 times more for childcare

	Abuja	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$45.24 NGN60,218.19	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+3024.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,150.69 NGN4M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+778.7%
Average			+1557.1%

Abuja vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 50.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Abuja	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 NGN1,331.21	$1.19 CN¥7.98	+19.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 NGN4,464.03	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-0.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 NGN2,662.42	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+86.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.12 NGN34,764.93	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+151.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.41 NGN8,530.91	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+39.6%
Average			+50.9%

Abuja vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.4% more for clothing

	Abuja	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.92 NGN34,511.60	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+109.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$60.65 NGN80,732.29	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-38.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.11 NGN104K	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-3.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.08 NGN141K	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-0.4%
Average			+5.4%

Abuja vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Abuja vs. Shanghai

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Shanghai?

More cost comparisons

Abuja vs.

Lima

Abuja vs.

Warsaw

Abuja vs.

Toronto

Abuja vs.

London

Abuja vs.

Bangkok

Abuja vs.

Rome

Abuja vs.

Paris

Abuja vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Nigeria vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Nigeria and China.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Abuja

Add prices for Shanghai

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Shanghai or Abuja. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.