Cost of living comparison

Ethiopia

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 11.8% more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 8.1% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 19.3% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 5.8% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 2.7% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 78.4% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 1.3% more in Shanghai

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Shanghai are more expensive than in Addis Ababa. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, and housing are lower in Shanghai. Notably, childcare and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Shanghai.

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Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Addis Ababa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.1% less for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.00 ETB654.34	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+11.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.50 ETB1,063.31	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-19.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.61 ETB99.06	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-1.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 ETB107.50	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-43.7%
Average			-8.1%

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.3% more for groceries

	Addis Ababa	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 ETB194.58	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+66.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.70 ETB604.57	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+132.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.09 ETB669.40	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+68.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ETB289.63	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-4.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.59 ETB750.34	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-67.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.44 ETB399.44	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-59.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.30 ETB48.73	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+158.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.99 ETB161.65	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-8.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 ETB50.42	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+149.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 ETB35.99	$0.36 CN¥2.40	+62.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 ETB79.77	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-11.2%
Average			+19.3%

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.8% less for transportation

	Addis Ababa	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.53 ETB577.22	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+40.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.11 ETB3,453.30	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+41.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$55,000.00 ETB9M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-64.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.53 ETB576.64	$5.67 CN¥37.92	+60.8%
Average			-5.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7% less for housing

	Addis Ababa	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$212.33 ETB34,734.76	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-95.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$706.95 ETB116K	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+46.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$394.55 ETB64,542.82	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+49.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$156.76 ETB25,644.51	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-71.9%
Average			-2.7%

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Addis Ababa	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$136.41 ETB22,314.75	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+936.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,187.50 ETB5M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	-8.3%
Average			+208.3%

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 78.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.80 ETB130.87	$1.19 CN¥7.98	+49.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.92 ETB150.32	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+264.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.00 ETB1,308.69	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-53.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.15 ETB7,221.55	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+48.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 ETB613.45	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+138.6%
Average			+78.4%

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.3% more for clothing

	Addis Ababa	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.14 ETB5,421.12	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+64.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.86 ETB11,591.24	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-47.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.65 ETB12,865.68	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-4.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.70 ETB13,529.26	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+27.8%
Average			+1.3%

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

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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

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