Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Al Ain vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Al Ain is 13.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 57.6% more in Al Ain
Groceries: pay 15.0% more in Al Ain
Transportation: pay 3.7% less in Al Ain
Housing: pay 20.4% more in Al Ain
Childcare: pay 66.8% less in Al Ain
Entertainment and Sports: pay 77.5% more in Al Ain
Clothing: pay 0.9% less in Al Ain

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

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Al Ain vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Al Ain instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 57.6% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Al Ain
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$8.17 AED30.00	+82.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$8.58 AED31.50	+64.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.72 AED2.65	+20.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.34 AED1.25	-8.0%
Average			+57.6%

Shanghai vs. Al Ain - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.0% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Al Ain
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.62 AED5.94	-18.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.76 AED17.50	-44.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.79 AED24.92	-1.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.83 AED10.39	+66.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.40 AED16.16	+197.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.12 AED4.13	+13.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.92 AED3.38	+19.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.84 AED3.09	-7.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.71 AED2.60	-8.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.52 AED1.93	+46.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.53 AED1.96	+23.1%
Average			+15.0%

Shanghai vs. Al Ain - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.7% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Al Ain
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.37 AED12.37	-32.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$24.50 AED89.99	-17.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$29,949.09 AED110K	+54.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$6.67 AED24.50	+17.7%
Average			-3.7%

Shanghai vs. Al Ain - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.4% more for housing

	Shanghai	Al Ain
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$88.30 AED324.28	+737.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$707.89 AED2,599.72	-31.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$816.48 AED2,998.51	+38.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$86.71 AED318.46	+96.8%
Average			+20.4%

Shanghai vs. Al Ain - Cost of housing

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pay 66.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Al Ain
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$571.30 AED2,098.11	-59.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$7,532.65 AED27,663.65	-72.8%
Average			-66.8%

Shanghai vs. Al Ain - Cost of childcare

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pay 77.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Al Ain
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$8.17 AED30.00	+584.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.67 AED17.16	+39.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$6.26 AED23.00	+67.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$57.29 AED210.39	-12.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$13.61 AED49.99	+52.1%
Average			+77.5%

Shanghai vs. Al Ain - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.9% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Al Ain
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$44.24 AED162.48	-18.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$49.09 AED180.30	+32.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$70.11 AED257.47	-7.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$102.10 AED374.96	-3.4%
Average			-0.9%

Shanghai vs. Al Ain - 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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