Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Al Khobar vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Al Khobar is 11.6% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 45.5% more in Al Khobar
Groceries: pay 14.9% more in Al Khobar
Transportation: pay 58.7% more in Al Khobar
Housing: pay 8.1% less in Al Khobar
Childcare: pay 64.0% less in Al Khobar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 58.8% more in Al Khobar
Clothing: pay 31.1% more in Al Khobar

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

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Al Khobar vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.5% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Al Khobar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$6.66 SAR25.00	+48.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$7.99 SAR30.00	+53.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.90 SAR3.38	+50.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.39 SAR1.48	+6.3%
Average			+45.5%

Shanghai vs. Al Khobar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.9% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Al Khobar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.29 SAR4.83	-34.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.65 SAR13.71	-57.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$6.30 SAR23.66	-8.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.38 SAR8.93	+40.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$4.58 SAR17.18	+209.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.23 SAR4.60	+23.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.78 SAR2.95	+1.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.92 SAR3.44	+1.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.82 SAR3.06	+6.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.63 SAR2.35	+74.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.76 SAR2.87	+76.5%
Average			+14.9%

Shanghai vs. Al Khobar - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.7% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Al Khobar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$2.35 SAR8.82	-52.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$67.95 SAR255.04	+127.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$66,619.11 SAR250K	+243.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$24.65 SAR92.51	+334.9%
Average			+58.7%

Shanghai vs. Al Khobar - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.1% less for housing

	Shanghai	Al Khobar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$69.68 SAR261.54	+560.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$634.22 SAR2,380.37	-38.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$503.64 SAR1,890.30	-14.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$75.34 SAR282.76	+71.0%
Average			-8.1%

Shanghai vs. Al Khobar - Cost of housing

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pay 64.0% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Al Khobar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$601.44 SAR2,257.35	-57.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$8,438.45 SAR31,671.63	-69.5%
Average			-64.0%

Shanghai vs. Al Khobar - Cost of childcare

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pay 58.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Al Khobar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.66 SAR10.00	+123.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.40 SAR16.50	+31.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$6.66 SAR25.00	+78.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$81.81 SAR307.05	+24.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$15.32 SAR57.51	+71.2%
Average			+58.8%

Shanghai vs. Al Khobar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Al Khobar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$63.29 SAR237.54	+16.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$83.27 SAR312.55	+124.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$96.60 SAR362.56	+28.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$93.27 SAR350.05	-11.8%
Average			+31.1%

Shanghai vs. Al Khobar - 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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