Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 5.4% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 4.3% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 4.5% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 1.6% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 6.3% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 36.3% less in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.3% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 17.9% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.3% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$4.47 CN¥29.94
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.22 CN¥34.93
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.52 CN¥3.49	-12.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.27 CN¥1.82	-26.4%
Average			-4.3%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.5% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.73 CN¥11.56	-12.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$7.22 CN¥48.28	-16.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.41 CN¥42.88	-6.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.02 CN¥13.53	+19.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$1.47 CN¥9.81	-0.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.93 CN¥6.25	-6.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.79 CN¥5.28	+2.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.93 CN¥6.21	+2.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.71 CN¥4.75	-7.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.32 CN¥2.15	-10.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.40 CN¥2.66	-8.4%
Average			-4.5%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.6% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$4.96 CN¥33.20	-0.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$34.30 CN¥229.53	+15.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$4.68 CN¥31.34	-17.4%
Average			+1.6%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.3% less for housing

	Shanghai	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$14.27 CN¥95.47	+35.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	-9.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	-9.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$44.49 CN¥297.65	+1.0%
Average			-6.3%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	-53.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	-12.3%
Average			-36.3%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.19 CN¥7.98
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.60 CN¥24.09	+7.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$4.33 CN¥28.94	+16.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$41.45 CN¥277.32	-36.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$7.46 CN¥49.90	-16.7%
Average			-12.3%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.9% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$70.55 CN¥472.03	+29.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$40.41 CN¥270.36	+8.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$86.99 CN¥582.00	+15.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$125.40 CN¥839.02	+18.6%
Average			+17.9%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - 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. Beijing

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Beijing?

Size Comparison · See true size

Shanghai is about 2.6 times smaller than Beijing.

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

London

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

Paris

Shanghai vs.

Warsaw

Shanghai vs.

Toronto

Shanghai vs.

New York City

Shanghai vs.

Cairo

Shanghai vs.

Lima

Share this

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 Beijing

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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