Cost of living comparison

Italy

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Bologna Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 40.1% cheaper than Bologna.

Restaurants: pay 75.1% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 38.8% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 43.4% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 37.3% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 76.3% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.4% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 32.1% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Bologna Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 75.1% less for restaurants

	Bologna	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.39 €19.93	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-80.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.44 €11.96	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-61.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.63 €3.23	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-83.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.77 €1.58	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-79.1%
Average			-75.1%

Bologna vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.8% less for groceries

	Bologna	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$3.09 €2.75	$1.98 CN¥13.22	-36.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.33 €9.20	$8.60 CN¥57.52	-16.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.19 €4.62	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+32.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.95 €3.52	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-57.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.59 €4.97	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-73.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.10 €0.98	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-10.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 €0.96	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-28.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.17 €1.04	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-22.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.54 €1.37	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-50.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.86 €0.77	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-58.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 €0.71	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-45.5%
Average			-38.8%

Bologna vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.4% less for transportation

	Bologna	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.06 €7.17	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-38.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$43.67 €38.87	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-31.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,317.50 €32,323.89	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-46.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.03 €16.05	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-68.6%
Average			-43.4%

Bologna vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.3% less for housing

	Bologna	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.17 €27.74	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-66.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,136.62 €1,011.63	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	-8.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$872.70 €776.74	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	-32.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$189.21 €168.41	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-76.7%
Average			-37.3%

Bologna vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 76.3% more for childcare

	Bologna	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$771.78 €686.91	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+83.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,312.31 €14,518.54	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+69.7%
Average			+76.3%

Bologna vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Bologna	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.72 €5.98	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-82.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.23 €1.98	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+50.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.96 €6.20	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-46.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$63.58 €56.59	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+3.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.08 €8.97	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-11.2%
Average			-29.4%

Bologna vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.1% less for clothing

	Bologna	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.07 €81.94	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-40.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.99 €40.93	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-19.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$120.58 €107.32	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-37.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$147.99 €131.71	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-28.6%
Average			-32.1%

Bologna 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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