Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Ajman vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Ajman is 47.9% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 34.2% more in Ajman
Groceries: pay 7.5% less in Ajman
Transportation: pay 44.1% more in Ajman
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in Ajman
Childcare: pay 73.4% less in Ajman
Entertainment and Sports: pay 94.9% more in Ajman
Clothing: pay 15.1% more in Ajman

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

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Ajman vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 34.2% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Ajman
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$5.72 AED21.00	+27.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$8.17 AED30.00	+56.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.76 AED2.80	+27.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.38 AED1.40	+3.0%
Average			+34.2%

Shanghai vs. Ajman - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.5% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Ajman
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.32 AED4.86	-33.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.90 AED14.33	-54.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$7.32 AED26.87	+6.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.10 AED7.70	+23.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$2.92 AED10.73	+97.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$0.89 AED3.27	-10.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.62 AED2.27	-19.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.70 AED2.57	-22.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.46 AED1.68	-40.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.47 AED1.74	+32.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.53 AED1.95	+22.6%
Average			-7.5%

Shanghai vs. Ajman - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.1% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Ajman
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$3.30 AED12.13	-33.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$68.07 AED249.97	+128.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$45,421.06 AED167K	+134.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$8.98 AED33.00	+58.5%
Average			+44.1%

Shanghai vs. Ajman - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Ajman
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$85.22 AED312.97	+707.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$2,484.41 AED9,124.01	+139.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$1,354.52 AED4,974.46	+130.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$115.29 AED423.41	+161.7%
Average			+153.8%

Shanghai vs. Ajman - Cost of housing

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pay 73.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Ajman
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$483.27 AED1,774.81	-65.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$5,717.55 AED20,997.71	-79.3%
Average			-73.4%

Shanghai vs. Ajman - Cost of childcare

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pay 94.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Ajman
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$10.89 AED40.00	+812.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$3.79 AED13.92	+13.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$6.26 AED23.00	+67.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$78.28 AED287.47	+19.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$13.61 AED49.99	+52.1%
Average			+94.9%

Shanghai vs. Ajman - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Ajman
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$57.72 AED211.98	+6.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$61.26 AED224.98	+65.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$85.01 AED312.22	+12.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$93.93 AED344.96	-11.1%
Average			+15.1%

Shanghai vs. Ajman - 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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