Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 6.3% more expensive than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 23.9% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 1.3% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 8.2% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 46.5% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.5% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 21.4% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.9% less for restaurants

	Riyadh	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.00 SAR30.05	$4.21 CN¥28.50	-47.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 SAR30.05	$5.61 CN¥37.99	-29.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 SAR2.82	$0.52 CN¥3.56	-30.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 SAR1.10	$0.33 CN¥2.21	+11.9%
Average			-23.9%

Riyadh vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.3% less for groceries

	Riyadh	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.31 SAR4.91	$1.86 CN¥12.59	+42.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.27 SAR16.03	$8.08 CN¥54.74	+89.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.23 SAR23.41	$8.27 CN¥56.02	+32.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.81 SAR10.55	$1.74 CN¥11.82	-37.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.67 SAR17.55	$1.36 CN¥9.22	-70.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 SAR3.86	$1.00 CN¥6.80	-2.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 SAR2.87	$0.78 CN¥5.28	+1.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 SAR3.07	$0.84 CN¥5.69	+2.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 SAR2.63	$0.66 CN¥4.48	-5.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 SAR2.18	$0.35 CN¥2.34	-40.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 SAR2.49	$0.49 CN¥3.32	-26.0%
Average			-1.3%

Riyadh vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.2% less for transportation

	Riyadh	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.31 SAR8.66	$4.24 CN¥28.71	+83.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.33 SAR140.25	$35.05 CN¥237.47	-6.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,328.67 SAR125K	$19,627.64 CN¥133K	-41.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.40 SAR69.12	$5.61 CN¥37.99	-69.5%
Average			-8.2%

Riyadh vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.5% less for housing

	Riyadh	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.49 SAR279.89	$12.37 CN¥83.84	-83.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,119.84 SAR4,207.41	$926.30 CN¥6,275.90	-17.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$846.11 SAR3,178.95	$551.44 CN¥3,736.14	-34.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.07 SAR308.36	$40.55 CN¥274.71	-50.6%
Average			-46.5%

Riyadh vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Riyadh	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$461.83 SAR1,735.15	$1,229.70 CN¥8,331.47	+166.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,810.75 SAR36,860.40	$29,777.93 CN¥202K	+203.5%
Average			+184.9%

Riyadh vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.87 SAR7.01	$1.40 CN¥9.50	-24.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 SAR15.41	$3.25 CN¥22.01	-20.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.33 SAR27.55	$2.80 CN¥19.00	-61.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$104.43 SAR392.36	$57.60 CN¥390.24	-44.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.33 SAR57.60	$8.41 CN¥56.99	-45.1%
Average			-39.5%

Riyadh vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.4% less for clothing

	Riyadh	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.01 SAR221.71	$46.70 CN¥316.43	-20.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$64.27 SAR241.48	$37.62 CN¥254.91	-41.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$110.52 SAR415.23	$72.33 CN¥490.05	-34.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.25 SAR369.15	$109.50 CN¥741.92	+11.5%
Average			-21.4%

Riyadh 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: July 2026

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