Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

New Zealand

Christchurch vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Christchurch is 55.7% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.7 times more in Christchurch
Groceries: pay 42.3% more in Christchurch
Transportation: pay 84.8% more in Christchurch
Housing: pay 62.4% more in Christchurch
Childcare: pay 39.1% less in Christchurch
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.0% more in Christchurch
Clothing: pay 15.1% more in Christchurch

The cost of restaurants, transportation, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Christchurch are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, restaurants and transportation are significantly more expensive in Christchurch.

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Christchurch vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Christchurch
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$14.01 NZ$24.77	+213.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$8.96 NZ$15.85	+71.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.29 NZ$4.05	+281.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.81 NZ$3.20	+388.8%
Average			+170.5%

Shanghai vs. Christchurch - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.3% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Christchurch
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.83 NZ$3.24	-7.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.65 NZ$6.46	-57.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.40 NZ$11.31	-7.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$5.84 NZ$10.33	+244.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.20 NZ$7.43	+184.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.14 NZ$2.02	+15.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.04 NZ$1.84	+34.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.22 NZ$2.15	+34.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.74 NZ$3.08	+126.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.68 NZ$1.21	+91.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.65 NZ$1.15	+50.0%
Average			+42.3%

Shanghai vs. Christchurch - Cost of groceries

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pay 84.8% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Christchurch
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$7.14 NZ$12.62	+43.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$100.84 NZ$178.31	+238.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$25,203.61 NZ$44,568.72	+30.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$15.97 NZ$28.23	+181.7%
Average			+84.8%

Shanghai vs. Christchurch - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.4% more for housing

	Shanghai	Christchurch
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$45.23 NZ$79.98	+328.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,208.64 NZ$2,137.30	+16.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$969.15 NZ$1,713.80	+64.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$120.70 NZ$213.45	+174.0%
Average			+62.4%

Shanghai vs. Christchurch - Cost of housing

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pay 39.1% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Christchurch
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$668.74 NZ$1,182.57	-52.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$21,713.88 NZ$38,397.68	-21.6%
Average			-39.1%

Shanghai vs. Christchurch - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Christchurch
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.72 NZ$11.89	+463.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.22 NZ$5.70	-3.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$23.83 NZ$42.14	+539.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$23.47 NZ$41.50	-64.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$11.20 NZ$19.81	+25.2%
Average			+38.0%

Shanghai vs. Christchurch - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Christchurch
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$58.65 NZ$103.71	+7.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$39.39 NZ$69.66	+6.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$99.20 NZ$175.41	+31.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$123.35 NZ$218.13	+16.7%
Average			+15.1%

Shanghai vs. Christchurch - 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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