Cost of living comparison

India

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Delhi Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 2.4 times more expensive than Delhi.

Restaurants: pay 41.5% more in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 62.4% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 3.2 times more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 13.2 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.6% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 80.4% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Delhi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 41.5% more for restaurants

	Delhi	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.62 ₹343.34	$4.47 CN¥29.79	+23.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.67 ₹348.24	$5.22 CN¥34.75	+42.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 ₹34.08	$0.60 CN¥3.99	+67.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.17 ₹16.24	$0.37 CN¥2.46	+116.2%
Average			+41.5%

Delhi vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Delhi	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.54 ₹50.78	$1.98 CN¥13.15	+269.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.27 ₹215.42	$8.60 CN¥57.24	+278.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.66 ₹252.39	$6.88 CN¥45.79	+158.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.09 ₹103.28	$1.70 CN¥11.30	+56.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.55 ₹147.13	$1.48 CN¥9.84	-4.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.88 ₹83.90	$0.99 CN¥6.62	+12.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.34 ₹32.73	$0.77 CN¥5.13	+123.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.45 ₹42.32	$0.90 CN¥6.02	+102.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 ₹21.36	$0.77 CN¥5.12	+241.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.13 ₹12.05	$0.36 CN¥2.38	+182.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.17 ₹16.28	$0.43 CN¥2.88	+152.6%
Average			+122.7%

Delhi vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 62.4% more for transportation

	Delhi	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.06 ₹384.89	$4.96 CN¥33.05	+22.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.50 ₹1,471.44	$29.83 CN¥198.59	+92.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$10,335.43 ₹981K	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	+87.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.05 ₹289.38	$5.67 CN¥37.73	+85.9%
Average			+62.4%

Delhi vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.2 times more for housing

	Delhi	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$6.60 ₹626.49	$10.55 CN¥70.24	+59.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$267.93 ₹25,429.54	$1,036.96 CN¥6,903.44	+287.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$153.58 ₹14,577.09	$588.71 CN¥3,919.27	+283.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.95 ₹3,032.81	$44.06 CN¥293.30	+37.9%
Average			+216.0%

Delhi vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 13.2 times more for childcare

	Delhi	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$100.91 ₹9,577.28	$1,413.50 CN¥9,410.21	+1300.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,228.58 ₹212K	$27,686.22 CN¥184K	+1142.3%
Average			+1219.2%

Delhi vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Delhi	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.07 ₹196.19	$1.19 CN¥7.94	-42.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.27 ₹215.65	$3.35 CN¥22.30	+47.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.96 ₹470.86	$3.73 CN¥24.82	-24.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$19.31 ₹1,832.61	$65.69 CN¥437.32	+240.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.17 ₹490.48	$8.95 CN¥59.58	+73.2%
Average			+46.6%

Delhi vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 80.4% more for clothing

	Delhi	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.81 ₹2,259.84	$54.37 CN¥361.97	+128.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.14 ₹2,671.20	$37.09 CN¥246.96	+31.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$52.37 ₹4,970.20	$75.49 CN¥502.56	+44.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$43.28 ₹4,107.78	$105.70 CN¥703.72	+144.2%
Average			+80.4%

Delhi 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Delhi vs. Shanghai

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Size Comparison · See true size

Delhi is about 4.5 times smaller than Shanghai.

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