Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 5.9% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 9.0% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 4.8% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 8.8% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 1.6% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 32.0% less in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.9% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 9.9% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.0% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.67	$4.21 CN¥29.67
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.61 CN¥39.56	$4.91 CN¥34.62	-12.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.70	$0.48 CN¥3.38	-8.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 CN¥2.30	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-6.0%
Average			-9.0%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.8% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.86 CN¥13.11	$1.71 CN¥12.04	-8.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.08 CN¥56.99	$7.47 CN¥52.69	-7.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.27 CN¥58.33	$6.64 CN¥46.85	-19.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥12.31	$1.78 CN¥12.53	+1.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.36 CN¥9.60	$1.53 CN¥10.80	+12.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.00 CN¥7.08	$0.98 CN¥6.93	-2.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 CN¥5.49	$0.77 CN¥5.43	-1.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 CN¥5.92	$0.80 CN¥5.65	-4.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 CN¥4.66	$0.60 CN¥4.25	-8.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.44	$0.35 CN¥2.46	+0.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 CN¥3.46	$0.41 CN¥2.91	-15.8%
Average			-4.8%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.8% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.24 CN¥29.89	$4.21 CN¥29.71	-0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.05 CN¥247.26	$31.54 CN¥222.53	-10.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,627.64 CN¥138,463.16	$18,225.66 CN¥128,572.93	-7.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.61 CN¥39.56	$4.63 CN¥32.64	-17.5%
Average			-8.8%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.6% less for housing

	Shanghai	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.37 CN¥87.29	$12.93 CN¥91.22	+4.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$926.30 CN¥6,534.61	$935.23 CN¥6,597.60	+1.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$551.44 CN¥3,890.16	$504.41 CN¥3,558.33	-8.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$40.55 CN¥286.04	$39.27 CN¥277.00	-3.2%
Average			-1.6%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 32.0% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,229.70 CN¥8,674.93	$710.76 CN¥5,014.09	-42.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$29,777.93 CN¥210,068.39	$23,242.73 CN¥163,965.81	-21.9%
Average			-32.0%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.40 CN¥9.89	$1.12 CN¥7.91	-20.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.25 CN¥22.92	$2.90 CN¥20.47	-10.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.80 CN¥19.78	$4.21 CN¥29.67	+50.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.60 CN¥406.32	$57.84 CN¥408.00	+0.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.34	$8.41 CN¥59.34
Average			+4.9%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.9% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.70 CN¥329.48	$62.30 CN¥439.49	+33.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.62 CN¥265.42	$36.37 CN¥256.59	-3.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 CN¥510.26	$81.74 CN¥576.64	+13.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.50 CN¥772.50	$105.53 CN¥744.46	-3.6%
Average			+9.9%

Shanghai vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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