Cost of living comparison

compared to

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 34.5% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 83.1% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 50.1% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 64.5% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 62.6% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.3% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 56.9% less in Shanghai

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

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 83.1% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.48 ISK3,473	$4.21 CN¥29.67	-84.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$22.76 ISK2,877	$5.61 CN¥39.56	-75.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.34 ISK422	$0.52 CN¥3.70	-84.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 ISK341	$0.33 CN¥2.30	-87.9%
Average			-83.1%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.1% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$4.63 ISK586	$1.86 CN¥13.11	-59.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,193	$8.08 CN¥56.99	-14.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.63 ISK964	$8.27 CN¥58.33	+8.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.50 ISK822	$1.74 CN¥12.31	-73.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.29 ISK1,427	$1.36 CN¥9.60	-88.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 ISK201	$1.00 CN¥7.08	-36.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK148	$0.78 CN¥5.49	-33.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.49 ISK188	$0.84 CN¥5.92	-43.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.54 ISK321	$0.66 CN¥4.66	-73.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 ISK214	$0.35 CN¥2.44	-79.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.13 ISK143	$0.49 CN¥3.46	-56.6%
Average			-50.1%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 64.5% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.66 ISK1,221	$4.24 CN¥29.89	-56.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$88.58 ISK11,197	$35.05 CN¥247.26	-60.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,771.00 ISK6,417,454	$19,627.64 CN¥138,463.16	-61.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.07 ISK3,548	$5.61 CN¥39.56	-80.0%
Average			-64.5%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.6% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$81.97 ISK10,361	$12.37 CN¥87.29	-84.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,259.48 ISK285,599	$926.30 CN¥6,534.61	-59.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,034.90 ISK257,212	$551.44 CN¥3,890.16	-72.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.87 ISK7,694	$40.55 CN¥286.04	-33.4%
Average			-62.6%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$327.78 ISK41,431	$1,229.70 CN¥8,674.93	+275.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,881,881	$29,777.93 CN¥210,068.39	-3.0%
Average			+136.1%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.12 ISK1,659	$1.40 CN¥9.89	-89.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.17 ISK780	$3.25 CN¥22.92	-47.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.94 ISK1,761	$2.80 CN¥19.78	-79.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$87.35 ISK11,041	$57.60 CN¥406.32	-34.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18 ISK2,172	$8.41 CN¥59.34	-51.0%
Average			-60.3%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.9% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$145.10 ISK18,340	$46.70 CN¥329.48	-67.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.97 ISK8,086	$37.62 CN¥265.42	-41.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$193.43 ISK24,449	$72.33 CN¥510.26	-62.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.79 ISK31,447	$109.50 CN¥772.50	-56.0%
Average			-56.9%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

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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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