Cost of living comparison

Vietnam

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Hanoi Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 51.7% more expensive than Hanoi.

Restaurants: pay 54.5% more in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 17.9% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 33.0% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 86.1% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 35.4% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.0% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 17.8% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Hanoi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.5% more for restaurants

	Hanoi	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.12 ₫54,815	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+111.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 ₫114K	$5.22 CN¥34.93	+18.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ₫12,707	$0.60 CN¥4.01	+22.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 ₫7,911	$0.37 CN¥2.47	+21.1%
Average			+54.5%

Hanoi vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.9% more for groceries

	Hanoi	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 ₫28,093	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+82.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.21 ₫135K	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+65.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.70 ₫148K	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+20.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.47 ₫38,071	$1.70 CN¥11.36	+15.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.68 ₫43,626	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-12.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₫39,415	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-34.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 ₫12,449	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+60.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 ₫15,804	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+48.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 ₫13,206	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+50.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 ₫11,217	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-17.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.50 ₫13,012	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-13.8%
Average			+17.9%

Hanoi vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.0% more for transportation

	Hanoi	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.47 ₫89,815	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+43.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.24 ₫239K	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+222.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,715.02 ₫795M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-36.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.39 ₫140K	$5.67 CN¥37.92	+5.2%
Average			+33.0%

Hanoi vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 86.1% more for housing

	Hanoi	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.84 ₫229K	$10.55 CN¥70.59	+19.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$407.99 ₫11M	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+154.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$278.92 ₫7M	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+111.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.57 ₫2M	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-32.8%
Average			+86.1%

Hanoi vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 35.4% more for childcare

	Hanoi	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$771.38 ₫20M	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+83.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,672.00 ₫717M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+0.1%
Average			+35.4%

Hanoi vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Hanoi	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.08 ₫27,896	$1.19 CN¥7.98	+10.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ₫48,672	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+78.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.40 ₫36,277	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+166.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.48 ₫634K	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+168.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 ₫110K	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+111.4%
Average			+95.0%

Hanoi vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.8% more for clothing

	Hanoi	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.20 ₫1M	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+12.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.30 ₫681K	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+41.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.83 ₫2M	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-10.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.65 ₫2M	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+34.4%
Average			+17.8%

Hanoi 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

Compare further: Hanoi vs. Shanghai

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Size Comparison · See true size

Hanoi is about 1.9 times smaller than Shanghai.

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