Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Azerbaijan

Baku vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Baku is 23.0% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 76.8% more in Baku
Groceries: pay 25.6% less in Baku
Transportation: pay 21.6% less in Baku
Housing: pay 37.0% less in Baku
Childcare: pay 76.2% less in Baku
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.0% less in Baku
Clothing: pay 34.8% more in Baku

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

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Baku vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 76.8% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Baku
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$8.82 AZN15.00	+97.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$8.09 AZN13.75	+54.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.11 AZN1.89	+85.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.60 AZN1.02	+63.0%
Average			+76.8%

Shanghai vs. Baku - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.6% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Baku
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.51 AZN0.87	-74.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$2.59 AZN4.40	-69.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$5.58 AZN9.49	-18.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.02 AZN3.43	+18.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.36 AZN4.01	+59.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.59 AZN1.01	-40.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.84 AZN1.43	+9.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.72 AZN1.22	-20.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.82 AZN1.39	+6.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.35 AZN0.59	-3.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.26 AZN0.44	-39.7%
Average			-25.6%

Shanghai vs. Baku - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.6% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Baku
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$2.55 AZN4.34	-48.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$21.18 AZN36.00	-29.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$23,529.41 AZN40,000.00	+21.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$6.76 AZN11.50	+19.4%
Average			-21.6%

Shanghai vs. Baku - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.0% less for housing

	Shanghai	Baku
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$15.29 AZN26.00	+45.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$550.65 AZN936.11	-46.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$315.38 AZN536.15	-46.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$50.83 AZN86.41	+15.4%
Average			-37.0%

Shanghai vs. Baku - Cost of housing

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pay 76.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Baku
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$327.99 AZN557.58	-76.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$6,732.03 AZN11,444.44	-75.7%
Average			-76.2%

Shanghai vs. Baku - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Baku
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.76 AZN3.00	+47.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.51 AZN5.97	+4.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$2.94 AZN5.00	-21.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$48.53 AZN82.50	-26.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$5.88 AZN10.00	-34.3%
Average			-11.0%

Shanghai vs. Baku - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.8% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Baku
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$66.42 AZN112.92	+22.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$55.49 AZN94.33	+49.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$125.29 AZN213.00	+66.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$114.97 AZN195.45	+8.8%
Average			+34.8%

Shanghai vs. Baku - 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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