Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Ireland

Galway vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Galway is 2.2 times more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 4.4 times more in Galway
Groceries: pay 64.2% more in Galway
Transportation: pay 94.9% more in Galway
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Galway
Childcare: pay 28.7% less in Galway
Entertainment and Sports: pay 97.1% more in Galway
Clothing: pay 39.4% more in Galway

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

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Galway vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.4 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Galway
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$22.39 €19.99	+400.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$16.80 €14.99	+221.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$2.97 €2.65	+395.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.25 €2.01	+509.2%
Average			+336.8%

Shanghai vs. Galway - Cost of restaurants

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pay 64.2% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Galway
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$2.32 €2.07	+17.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$8.34 €7.44	-3.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$6.08 €5.42	-11.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$4.29 €3.83	+152.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$4.96 €4.43	+235.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.37 €1.22	+37.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.00 €0.90	+30.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.39 €1.24	+54.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.88 €1.67	+143.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.92 €0.82	+157.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.68 €0.61	+57.6%
Average			+64.2%

Shanghai vs. Galway - Cost of groceries

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pay 94.9% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Galway
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$8.00 €7.14	+61.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$61.59 €54.97	+106.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$39,000.39 €34,809.33	+101.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$16.88 €15.07	+197.8%
Average			+94.9%

Shanghai vs. Galway - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Galway
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$50.95 €45.48	+382.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$2,281.46 €2,036.29	+120.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$1,935.54 €1,727.55	+228.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$185.51 €165.57	+321.1%
Average			+196.2%

Shanghai vs. Galway - Cost of housing

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pay 28.7% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Galway
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$1,007.76 €899.47	-28.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	??
Average			-28.7%

Shanghai vs. Galway - Cost of childcare

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pay 97.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Galway
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$7.84 €7.00	+556.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.86 €4.34	+45.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$20.52 €18.31	+450.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$43.99 €39.26	-33.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$16.80 €14.99	+87.7%
Average			+97.1%

Shanghai vs. Galway - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.4% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Galway
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$99.99 €89.24	+83.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$48.18 €43.01	+29.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$110.31 €98.46	+46.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$114.47 €102.17	+8.3%
Average			+39.4%

Shanghai vs. Galway - 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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