Cost of living comparison

United Kingdom

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Harlow Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 37.1% cheaper than Harlow.

Restaurants: pay 71.4% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 5.2% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 44.6% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 50.0% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 36.7% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.3% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 25.5% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Harlow Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 71.4% less for restaurants

	Harlow	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.08 £15.76	$4.47 CN¥29.86	-78.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.57 £7.90	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-50.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.67 £2.00	$0.60 CN¥4.00	-77.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.81 £1.35	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-79.5%
Average			-71.4%

Harlow vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.2% more for groceries

	Harlow	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 £1.01	$1.98 CN¥13.18	+45.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.30 £2.47	$8.60 CN¥57.38	+160.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 £3.74	$6.88 CN¥45.90	+37.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.30 £1.72	$1.70 CN¥11.33	-26.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.75 £2.06	$1.48 CN¥9.86	-46.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 £0.67	$0.99 CN¥6.63	+10.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.54 £0.40	$0.77 CN¥5.14	+42.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.51 £0.38	$0.90 CN¥6.03	+77.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.90 £0.67	$0.77 CN¥5.13	-14.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 £0.55	$0.36 CN¥2.39	-51.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 £0.44	$0.43 CN¥2.89	-27.0%
Average			+5.2%

Harlow vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.6% less for transportation

	Harlow	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.05 £5.27	$4.96 CN¥33.13	-29.6%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.09
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,561.84 £28,084.69	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-48.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.08 £14.27	$5.67 CN¥37.83	-70.3%
Average			-44.6%

Harlow vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.0% less for housing

	Harlow	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.08 £21.00	$10.55 CN¥70.41	-62.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,387.51 £1,037.43	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	-25.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,321.44 £988.03	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	-55.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$171.28 £128.07	$44.06 CN¥294.03	-74.3%
Average			-50.0%

Harlow vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 36.7% more for childcare

	Harlow	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,057.15 £790.42	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	+33.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,821.55 £14,820.42	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+39.7%
Average			+36.7%

Harlow vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Harlow	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.90 £5.16	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-82.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.57 £4.17	$3.35 CN¥22.36	-39.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$20.97 £15.68	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-82.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.25 £34.58	$65.69 CN¥438.41	+42.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.55 £9.38	$8.95 CN¥59.73	-28.7%
Average			-46.3%

Harlow vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.5% more for clothing

	Harlow	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.38 £51.87	$54.37 CN¥362.87	-21.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.38 £23.47	$37.09 CN¥247.57	+18.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.63 £58.05	$75.49 CN¥503.82	-2.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.32 £28.65	$105.70 CN¥705.47	+175.8%
Average			+25.5%

Harlow 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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