Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Ethiopia

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 10.6% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 8.8% more in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 16.2% less in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 6.1% more in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 2.8% more in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 67.6% less in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 44.0% less in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 1.3% less in Addis Ababa

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and housing in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Shanghai. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in Addis Ababa.

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

Addis Ababa vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.8% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$4.00 ETB654.34	-10.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$6.50 ETB1,063.31	+24.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.61 ETB99.06	+1.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.66 ETB107.50	+77.7%
Average			+8.8%

Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.2% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.19 ETB194.58	-39.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.70 ETB604.57	-57.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.09 ETB669.40	-40.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$1.77 ETB289.63	+4.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.59 ETB750.34	+210.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.44 ETB399.44	+145.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.30 ETB48.73	-61.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.99 ETB161.65	+9.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.31 ETB50.42	-59.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.22 ETB35.99	-38.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.49 ETB79.77	+12.6%
Average			-16.2%

Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.1% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.53 ETB577.22	-28.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$21.11 ETB3,453.30	-29.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$55,000.00 ETB9M	+183.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$3.53 ETB576.64	-37.8%
Average			+6.1%

Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.8% more for housing

	Shanghai	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$212.33 ETB34,734.76	+1912.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$706.95 ETB116K	-31.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$394.55 ETB64,542.82	-33.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$156.76 ETB25,644.51	+255.8%
Average			+2.8%

Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 67.6% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$136.41 ETB22,314.75	-90.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$30,187.50 ETB5M	+9.0%
Average			-67.6%

Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$0.80 ETB130.87	-33.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$0.92 ETB150.32	-72.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$8.00 ETB1,308.69	+114.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$44.15 ETB7,221.55	-32.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$3.75 ETB613.45	-58.1%
Average			-44.0%

Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.3% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$33.14 ETB5,421.12	-39.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$70.86 ETB11,591.24	+91.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$78.65 ETB12,865.68	+4.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$82.70 ETB13,529.26	-21.8%
Average			-1.3%

Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa - 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: Shanghai vs. Addis Ababa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Addis Ababa?

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

London

Shanghai vs.

Cairo

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

Athens

Shanghai vs.

Moscow

Shanghai vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Shanghai vs.

Dublin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Shanghai

Add prices for Addis Ababa

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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