Cost of living comparison

Russia

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Saint Petersburg Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 1.1% cheaper than Saint Petersburg.

Restaurants: pay 47.8% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 12.9% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 18.2% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 13.8% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.6% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 32.3% less in Shanghai

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

Planning a move to China? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Shanghai vs. Saint Petersburg Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Saint Petersburg, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.8% less for restaurants

	Saint Petersburg	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.46 RUB947.27	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-61.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.43 RUB531.63	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-18.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 RUB123.24	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-59.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 RUB56.64	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-46.0%
Average			-47.8%

Saint Petersburg vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.9% more for groceries

	Saint Petersburg	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.93 RUB76.85	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+112.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.02 RUB497.41	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+42.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.17 RUB344.70	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+64.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 RUB135.56	$1.70 CN¥11.36	+3.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.85 RUB235.33	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-48.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.77 RUB63.36	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+29.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 RUB60.03	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+6.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.75 RUB62.16	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+20.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 RUB114.37	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-44.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 RUB29.64	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-0.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 RUB23.17	$0.43 CN¥2.90	+54.5%
Average			+12.9%

Saint Petersburg vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.2% less for transportation

	Saint Petersburg	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.25 RUB268.89	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+52.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.51 RUB4,339.09	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-43.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,093.40 RUB3M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-44.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.60 RUB628.29	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-25.5%
Average			-18.2%

Saint Petersburg vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.8% more for housing

	Saint Petersburg	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.55 RUB706.83	$10.55 CN¥70.59	+23.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$730.46 RUB60,359.10	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+42.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$437.21 RUB36,126.86	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+34.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$112.08 RUB9,261.39	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-60.7%
Average			+13.8%

Saint Petersburg vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Saint Petersburg	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$549.43 RUB45,400.15	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+157.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,234.08 RUB1M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+60.6%
Average			+103.3%

Saint Petersburg vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Saint Petersburg	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.63 RUB217.49	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-54.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.03 RUB250.18	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+10.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.92 RUB241.65	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+27.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.61 RUB3,273.15	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+65.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.02 RUB579.96	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+27.5%
Average			+7.6%

Saint Petersburg vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.3% less for clothing

	Saint Petersburg	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.36 RUB7,631.78	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-41.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.79 RUB4,197.10	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-27.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$134.52 RUB11,115.96	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-43.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$121.11 RUB10,007.20	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-12.7%
Average			-32.3%

Saint Petersburg vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Saint Petersburg vs. Shanghai

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Shanghai?

Size Comparison · See true size

Saint Petersburg is about 4.4 times smaller than Shanghai.

More cost comparisons

Saint Petersburg vs.

Reykjavik

Saint Petersburg vs.

Moscow

Saint Petersburg vs.

Vienna

Saint Petersburg vs.

Athens

Saint Petersburg vs.

Paris

Saint Petersburg vs.

Quito

Saint Petersburg vs.

London

Saint Petersburg vs.

Dublin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Russia vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Russia and China.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Saint Petersburg

Add prices for Shanghai

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Shanghai or Saint Petersburg. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.