Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 17.6% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 55.3% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 15.1% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 43.0% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 10.5% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 21.4% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.5% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 5.5% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 55.3% less for restaurants

	Istanbul	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY600.23	$4.47 CN¥29.95	-63.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY460.17	$5.22 CN¥34.94	-44.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY85.20	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-65.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.48	$0.37 CN¥2.48	-36.1%
Average			-55.3%

Istanbul vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.1% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.31	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+114.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY259.74	$8.60 CN¥57.54	+62.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY230.60	$6.88 CN¥46.03	+46.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY118.68	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-29.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY124.97	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-41.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY41.91	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+16.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY50.56	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-25.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.17	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+57.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.13	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-7.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.27	$0.36 CN¥2.40	+15.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.08	$0.43 CN¥2.90	+51.4%
Average			+15.1%

Istanbul vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.0% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY267.44	$4.96 CN¥33.22	-8.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,299.24	$29.83 CN¥199.65	-55.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-61.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY413.64	$5.67 CN¥37.93	-32.6%
Average			-43.0%

Istanbul vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.5% less for housing

	Istanbul	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY794.70	$10.55 CN¥70.61	-34.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,066.06	$1,036.96 CN¥6,940.04	+4.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY31,886.99	$588.71 CN¥3,940.05	-9.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,389.91	$44.06 CN¥294.86	-36.0%
Average			-10.5%

Istanbul vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 21.4% more for childcare

	Istanbul	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,285.57	$1,413.50 CN¥9,460.10	+38.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+6.5%
Average			+21.4%

Istanbul vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY235.09	$1.19 CN¥7.99	-75.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY212.37	$3.35 CN¥22.42	-22.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY115.04	$3.73 CN¥24.96	+59.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,751.41	$65.69 CN¥439.64	-13.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY400.15	$8.95 CN¥59.89	+10.1%
Average			-25.5%

Istanbul vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.5% less for clothing

	Istanbul	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,625.73	$54.37 CN¥363.89	+1.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,950.03	$37.09 CN¥248.26	-6.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,917.81	$75.49 CN¥505.23	-24.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,701.77	$105.70 CN¥707.45	+10.7%
Average			-5.5%

Istanbul 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Istanbul is about 1.2 times smaller than Shanghai.

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