Cost of living comparison

Bosnia and Herzegovina

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Sarajevo Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 9.8% more expensive than Sarajevo.

Restaurants: pay 52.0% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 1.5% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 27.1% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 40.2% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 7.0 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.9% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 14.5% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Sarajevo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 52.0% less for restaurants

	Sarajevo	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.58 BAM14.93	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-47.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.58 BAM14.93	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-39.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.20 BAM3.82	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-72.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 BAM2.52	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-74.4%
Average			-52.0%

Sarajevo vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.5% more for groceries

	Sarajevo	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 BAM2.08	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+65.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 BAM8.96	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+67.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.50 BAM7.83	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+52.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.04 BAM5.29	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-44.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.43 BAM5.97	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-57.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.66 BAM1.15	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+50.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 BAM1.31	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+2.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 BAM1.21	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+30.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 BAM1.60	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-16.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 BAM0.76	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-17.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 BAM0.89	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-15.6%
Average			+1.5%

Sarajevo vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.1% less for transportation

	Sarajevo	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.41 BAM11.15	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-22.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.33 BAM59.73	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-13.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,737.21 BAM51,736.89	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-34.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.58 BAM18.42	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-46.5%
Average			-27.1%

Sarajevo vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.2% more for housing

	Sarajevo	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.86 BAM48.47	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-62.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$454.54 BAM790.80	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+128.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$310.33 BAM539.92	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+89.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$167.00 BAM290.54	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-73.6%
Average			+40.2%

Sarajevo vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 7.0 times more for childcare

	Sarajevo	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$206.61 BAM359.46	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+584.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,870.15 BAM6,733.30	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+615.4%
Average			+599.6%

Sarajevo vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Sarajevo	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.86 BAM4.98	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-58.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.29 BAM3.99	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+46.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.95 BAM6.87	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-5.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.01 BAM69.61	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+64.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.87 BAM11.95	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+30.3%
Average			+8.9%

Sarajevo vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.5% less for clothing

	Sarajevo	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$87.64 BAM152.48	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-38.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.97 BAM66.06	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-2.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.59 BAM157.61	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-16.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.13 BAM174.20	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+5.6%
Average			-14.5%

Sarajevo 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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