Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

China

Ningbo vs. Al Ain Cost of Living Summary

Ningbo is 14.9% cheaper than Al Ain.

Restaurants: pay 39.3% less in Ningbo
Groceries: pay 13.2% less in Ningbo
Transportation: pay 14.4% less in Ningbo
Housing: pay 62.1% less in Ningbo
Childcare: pay 88.5% more in Ningbo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.2% less in Ningbo
Clothing: pay 15.4% less in Ningbo

Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, transportation, and groceries are lower in Ningbo. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Ningbo.

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Ningbo vs. Al Ain Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ningbo instead of Al Ain, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 39.3% less for restaurants

	Al Ain	Ningbo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.49 AED27.50	$3.50 CN¥23.75	-53.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.44 AED31.00	$4.21 CN¥28.50	-50.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.77 AED2.81	$0.43 CN¥2.92	-43.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 AED1.25	$0.31 CN¥2.08	-9.9%
Average			-39.3%

Al Ain vs. Ningbo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.2% less for groceries

	Al Ain	Ningbo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 AED5.89	$2.46 CN¥16.69	+53.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 AED19.39	$8.76 CN¥59.37	+66.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.96 AED25.55	$7.56 CN¥51.24	+8.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.64 AED13.37	$1.90 CN¥12.85	-47.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.12 AED15.11	$1.74 CN¥11.81	-57.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 AED4.21	$0.70 CN¥4.74	-39.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 AED3.00	$0.64 CN¥4.31	-22.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 AED3.05	$0.71 CN¥4.83	-14.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 AED2.46	$0.49 CN¥3.34	-26.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.93	$0.31 CN¥2.07	-41.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 AED1.81	$0.37 CN¥2.53	-24.4%
Average			-13.2%

Al Ain vs. Ningbo - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.4% less for transportation

	Al Ain	Ningbo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.91 AED10.69	$4.43 CN¥30.04	+52.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.51 AED90.00	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,639.07 AED164K	$21,029.61 CN¥142K	-52.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$4.37 CN¥29.64	-42.6%
Average			-14.4%

Al Ain vs. Ningbo - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.1% less for housing

	Al Ain	Ningbo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$100.96 AED370.79	$7.01 CN¥47.49	-93.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$717.04 AED2,633.33	$382.04 CN¥2,588.38	-46.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$778.22 AED2,858.00	$259.37 CN¥1,757.25	-66.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.72 AED318.49	$50.27 CN¥340.59	-42.0%
Average			-62.1%

Al Ain vs. Ningbo - Cost of housing

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pay 88.5% more for childcare

	Al Ain	Ningbo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.43 AED2,296.88	$599.73 CN¥4,063.31	-4.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,445.88 AED20,000.00	$15,304.88 CN¥104K	+181.0%
Average			+88.5%

Al Ain vs. Ningbo - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Al Ain	Ningbo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.17 AED30.00	$0.98 CN¥6.65	-88.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.77 AED17.50	$3.41 CN¥23.11	-28.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.31 AED19.50	$4.21 CN¥28.50	-20.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.16 AED180.56	$21.91 CN¥148.42	-55.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED50.00	$7.01 CN¥47.49	-48.5%
Average			-48.2%

Al Ain vs. Ningbo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.4% less for clothing

	Al Ain	Ningbo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.62 AED222.62	$43.46 CN¥294.46	-28.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.59 AED105.00	$29.41 CN¥199.28	+2.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.25 AED261.67	$70.06 CN¥474.70	-1.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.21 AED353.33	$63.05 CN¥427.20	-34.5%
Average			-15.4%

Al Ain vs. Ningbo - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: July 2026

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