Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Bacau Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 28.6% more expensive than Bacau.

Restaurants: pay 59.9% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 26.8% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 19.4% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 98.5% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 3.7 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.4% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 4.6% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Bacau Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 59.9% less for restaurants

	Bacau	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.12 RON66.78	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-68.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.32 RON34.63	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-28.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 RON9.30	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-69.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.85 RON8.74	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-80.0%
Average			-59.9%

Bacau vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.8% more for groceries

	Bacau	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.68 RON3.22	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+190.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.83 RON18.14	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+124.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.55 RON21.53	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+51.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.43 RON16.21	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-50.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.43 RON11.52	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-39.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.51 RON2.39	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+96.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.66 RON3.14	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+16.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 RON3.29	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+30.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.81 RON3.81	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-4.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 RON1.50	$0.36 CN¥2.40	+13.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 RON1.42	$0.43 CN¥2.90	+44.2%
Average			+26.8%

Bacau vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.4% less for transportation

	Bacau	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.68 RON31.60	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-25.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.28 RON138.51	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+1.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,531.98 RON135K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-32.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.69 RON26.91	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-0.4%
Average			-19.4%

Bacau vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 98.5% more for housing

	Bacau	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$4.71 RON22.26	$10.55 CN¥70.59	+124.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$408.41 RON1,932.04	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+153.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$238.18 RON1,126.72	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+147.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.96 RON378.27	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-44.9%
Average			+98.5%

Bacau vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 3.7 times more for childcare

	Bacau	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$585.58 RON2,770.14	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+141.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,914.67 RON23,249.35	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+463.3%
Average			+268.8%

Bacau vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Bacau	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.51 RON11.87	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-52.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.99 RON9.40	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+68.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.33 RON25.23	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-30.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.79 RON122.02	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+154.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.27 RON29.68	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+42.6%
Average			+27.4%

Bacau vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.6% more for clothing

	Bacau	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$83.65 RON395.73	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-35.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.79 RON150.38	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+16.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$60.65 RON286.91	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+24.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.44 RON394.74	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+26.7%
Average			+4.6%

Bacau 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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