Cost of living comparison
compared to
Shanghai vs. Moscow Cost of Living Summary
Shanghai is 2.6% more expensive than Moscow.
- Restaurants
-
pay 44.9% less in Shanghai
- Groceries
-
pay 14.4% more in Shanghai
- Transportation
-
pay 1.0% less in Shanghai
- Housing
-
pay 13.3% less in Shanghai
- Childcare
-
pay 97.9% more in Shanghai
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.4% less in Shanghai
- Clothing
-
pay 32.8% less in Shanghai
The cost of childcare and groceries in Shanghai are more expensive than in Moscow. Expenses including restaurants, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Shanghai. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Shanghai.
Shanghai vs. Moscow Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Shanghai instead of Moscow, you would:
pay 44.9% less for restaurants
|
Moscow
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$11.93
RUB911.35
|
$4.21
CN¥29.74
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.97
RUB455.67
|
$5.61
CN¥39.65
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.38
RUB105.57
|
$0.52
CN¥3.71
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.61
RUB46.71
|
$0.33
CN¥2.31
|
|
Moscow vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.4% more for groceries
|
Moscow
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.85
RUB64.62
|
$1.86
CN¥13.14
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.27
RUB478.82
|
$8.08
CN¥57.12
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.62
RUB352.84
|
$8.27
CN¥58.46
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.68
RUB128.49
|
$1.74
CN¥12.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.46
RUB188.10
|
$1.36
CN¥9.62
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.81
RUB61.80
|
$1.00
CN¥7.09
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
RUB66.45
|
$0.78
CN¥5.51
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
RUB68.87
|
$0.84
CN¥5.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.64
RUB125.22
|
$0.66
CN¥4.67
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.43
RUB32.60
|
$0.35
CN¥2.44
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.34
RUB25.86
|
$0.49
CN¥3.46
|
|
Moscow vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries
pay 1.0% less for transportation
|
Moscow
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.84
RUB216.76
|
$4.24
CN¥29.96
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$36.64
RUB2,797.83
|
$35.05
CN¥247.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,994.59
RUB2,825,171.82
|
$19,627.64
CN¥138,769.35
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.73
RUB437.45
|
$5.61
CN¥39.65
|
|
Moscow vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation
pay 13.3% less for housing
|
Moscow
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$7.82
RUB596.90
|
$12.37
CN¥87.49
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,253.04
RUB95,691.30
|
$926.30
CN¥6,549.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$709.24
RUB54,162.93
|
$551.44
CN¥3,898.76
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$110.60
RUB8,445.86
|
$40.55
CN¥286.67
|
|
Moscow vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing
pay 97.9% more for childcare
|
Moscow
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$656.36
RUB50,124.02
|
$1,229.70
CN¥8,694.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,285.88
RUB1,090,971.99
|
$29,777.93
CN¥210,532.92
|
|
Moscow vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare
pay 2.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Moscow
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.18
RUB318.97
|
$1.40
CN¥9.91
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.16
RUB241.06
|
$3.25
CN¥22.97
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.98
RUB227.84
|
$2.80
CN¥19.82
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.58
RUB3,404.36
|
$57.60
CN¥407.22
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.56
RUB501.24
|
$8.41
CN¥59.47
|
|
Moscow vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.8% less for clothing
|
Moscow
|
Shanghai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.06
RUB5,808.16
|
$46.70
CN¥330.21
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.73
RUB3,645.38
|
$37.62
CN¥266.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$122.95
RUB9,389.02
|
$72.33
CN¥511.38
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$156.80
RUB11,974.07
|
$109.50
CN¥774.21
|
|
Moscow vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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