Cost of living comparison

Italy

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. L'Aquila Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 17.0% cheaper than L'Aquila.

Restaurants: pay 73.3% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 32.5% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 39.3% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 15.8% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 4.9 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.6% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 20.1% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. L'Aquila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of L'Aquila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 73.3% less for restaurants

	L'Aquila	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.39 €19.99	$4.47 CN¥29.86	-80.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.44 €11.99	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-61.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.80 €2.50	$0.60 CN¥4.00	-78.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.12 €1.00	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-67.0%
Average			-73.3%

L'Aquila vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.5% less for groceries

	L'Aquila	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.96 €2.64	$1.98 CN¥13.18	-33.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.94 €7.98	$8.60 CN¥57.38	-3.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.46 €4.87	$6.88 CN¥45.90	+26.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.44 €3.07	$1.70 CN¥11.33	-50.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.58 €4.98	$1.48 CN¥9.86	-73.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 €0.87	$0.99 CN¥6.63	+2.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 €0.79	$0.77 CN¥5.14	-12.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.02 €0.91	$0.90 CN¥6.03	-11.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.32 €1.18	$0.77 CN¥5.13	-41.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 €0.66	$0.36 CN¥2.39	-51.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.77 €0.69	$0.43 CN¥2.89	-44.1%
Average			-32.5%

L'Aquila vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.3% less for transportation

	L'Aquila	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.56 €6.75	$4.96 CN¥33.13	-34.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.63 €34.48	$29.83 CN¥199.09	-22.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,954.79 €31,198.47	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-44.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.02 €15.19	$5.67 CN¥37.83	-66.7%
Average			-39.3%

L'Aquila vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.8% more for housing

	L'Aquila	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.07 €27.73	$10.55 CN¥70.41	-66.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$545.87 €487.21	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	+90.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$426.90 €381.02	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	+37.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$150.36 €134.20	$44.06 CN¥294.03	-70.7%
Average			+15.8%

L'Aquila vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 4.9 times more for childcare

	L'Aquila	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$134.37 €119.93	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	+952.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,310.37 €10,987.48	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+124.9%
Average			+386.4%

L'Aquila vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.6% less for entertainment and sports

	L'Aquila	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.60 €5.00	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-78.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 €1.62	$3.35 CN¥22.36	+85.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.44 €5.75	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-42.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.99 €49.97	$65.69 CN¥438.41	+17.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.68 €7.75	$8.95 CN¥59.73	+3.1%
Average			-17.6%

L'Aquila vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.1% less for clothing

	L'Aquila	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$100.78 €89.95	$54.37 CN¥362.87	-46.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.55 €31.73	$37.09 CN¥247.57	+4.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.66 €88.95	$75.49 CN¥503.82	-24.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.57 €98.69	$105.70 CN¥705.47	-4.4%
Average			-20.1%

L'Aquila 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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