Cost of living comparison

Solomon Islands

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Honiara Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 14.1% cheaper than Honiara.

Restaurants: pay 50.1% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 47.9% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 1.1% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 20.3% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 11.8 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.6% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 10.8% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Honiara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 50.1% less for restaurants

	Honiara	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.82 SBD55.00	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-34.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.40 SBD100.00	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-57.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.55 SBD12.50	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-61.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 SBD8.75	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-65.9%
Average			-50.1%

Honiara vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.9% less for groceries

	Honiara	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 SBD12.08	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+31.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.27 SBD26.33	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+163.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.62 SBD77.60	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-28.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.60 SBD45.20	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-69.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.87 SBD31.18	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-61.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.85 SBD23.02	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-65.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.20 SBD9.64	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-35.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.88 SBD31.30	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-76.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.69 SBD13.61	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-54.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 SBD7.17	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-59.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.55 SBD12.47	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-72.0%
Average			-47.9%

Honiara vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.1% less for transportation

	Honiara	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 SBD40.27	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.80 SBD199.99	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+20.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,598.79 SBD150K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	+4.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.16 SBD90.00	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-49.2%
Average			-1.1%

Honiara vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.3% less for housing

	Honiara	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$89.89 SBD724.96	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-88.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$888.61 SBD7,166.32	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+16.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$433.97 SBD3,499.83	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+35.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$331.86 SBD2,676.34	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-86.7%
Average			-20.3%

Honiara vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 11.8 times more for childcare

	Honiara	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$99.19 SBD799.96	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+1325.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,851.81 SBD22,998.88	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+870.8%
Average			+1076.2%

Honiara vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Honiara	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.48 SBD20.00	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-51.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 SBD27.50	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-1.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.15 SBD33.50	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-10.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.20 SBD299.99	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+76.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.34 SBD35.00	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+106.2%
Average			+17.6%

Honiara vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% less for clothing

	Honiara	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.28 SBD219.99	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+99.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$92.99 SBD749.96	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-60.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.13 SBD783.30	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-22.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.29 SBD832.96	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+2.3%
Average			-10.8%

Honiara 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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