Cost of living comparison

Finland

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Helsinki Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 39.8% cheaper than Helsinki.

Restaurants: pay 73.4% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 31.9% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 55.1% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 33.3% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.5% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 28.9% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Helsinki Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 73.4% less for restaurants

	Helsinki	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.92 €15.95	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-75.0%
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)	$3.45 €3.07	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-82.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.59 €2.30	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-85.7%
Average			-73.4%

Helsinki vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.9% less for groceries

	Helsinki	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.76 €2.45	$1.98 CN¥13.22	-28.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.96 €4.41	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+73.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.08 €4.52	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+35.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.93 €3.50	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-56.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.02 €5.36	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-75.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 €1.12	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-20.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 €0.88	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-22.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 €1.00	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-19.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.77 €1.58	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-56.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 €0.49	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-35.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.74 €0.66	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-41.4%
Average			-31.9%

Helsinki vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 55.1% less for transportation

	Helsinki	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.89 €7.91	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-44.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$81.74 €72.75	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-63.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,622.07 €32,594.96	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-47.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.34 €23.44	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-78.5%
Average			-55.1%

Helsinki vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.3% less for housing

	Helsinki	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.77 €22.05	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-57.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,207.26 €1,074.51	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	-14.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$904.00 €804.59	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	-34.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$104.89 €93.35	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-58.0%
Average			-33.3%

Helsinki vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Helsinki	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$476.51 €424.11	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+196.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,685.20 €11,290.29	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+118.3%
Average			+154.4%

Helsinki vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 52.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Helsinki	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.08 €8.97	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-88.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.23 €4.65	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-35.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.00 €12.46	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-73.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.96 €41.80	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+39.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$18.48 €16.44	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-51.6%
Average			-52.5%

Helsinki vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.9% less for clothing

	Helsinki	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.46 €82.29	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-41.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.55 €38.76	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-14.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.85 €93.32	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-28.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$149.45 €133.01	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-29.3%
Average			-28.9%

Helsinki 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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Helsinki is about 30 times smaller than Shanghai.

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