Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United Kingdom

Harlow vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Harlow is 59.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.5 times more in Harlow
Groceries: pay 5.0% less in Harlow
Transportation: pay 80.5% more in Harlow
Housing: pay 99.9% more in Harlow
Childcare: pay 26.8% less in Harlow
Entertainment and Sports: pay 86.3% more in Harlow
Clothing: pay 20.3% less in Harlow

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

Planning a move to United Kingdom? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Harlow vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.5 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Harlow
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$21.08 £15.76	+371.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$10.57 £7.90	+102.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$2.67 £2.00	+345.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.81 £1.35	+388.2%
Average			+249.8%

Shanghai vs. Harlow - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.0% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Harlow
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.36 £1.01	-31.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.30 £2.47	-61.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$5.00 £3.74	-27.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.30 £1.72	+35.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$2.75 £2.06	+86.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$0.90 £0.67	-9.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.54 £0.40	-30.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.51 £0.38	-43.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.90 £0.67	+16.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.74 £0.55	+106.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.59 £0.44	+37.0%
Average			-5.0%

Shanghai vs. Harlow - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 80.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Harlow
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$7.05 £5.27	+42.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$37,561.84 £28,084.69	+93.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$19.08 £14.27	+236.7%
Average			+80.5%

Shanghai vs. Harlow - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 99.9% more for housing

	Shanghai	Harlow
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$28.08 £21.00	+166.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$1,387.51 £1,037.43	+33.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$1,321.44 £988.03	+124.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$171.28 £128.07	+288.8%
Average			+99.9%

Shanghai vs. Harlow - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Harlow
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$1,057.15 £790.42	-25.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$19,821.55 £14,820.42	-28.4%
Average			-26.8%

Shanghai vs. Harlow - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 86.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Harlow
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$6.90 £5.16	+478.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$5.57 £4.17	+66.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$20.97 £15.68	+462.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$46.25 £34.58	-29.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$12.55 £9.38	+40.2%
Average			+86.3%

Shanghai vs. Harlow - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.3% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Harlow
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$69.38 £51.87	+27.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$31.38 £23.47	-15.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$77.63 £58.05	+2.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$38.32 £28.65	-63.7%
Average			-20.3%

Shanghai vs. Harlow - 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. Harlow

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Harlow?

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Vienna

Shanghai vs.

Moscow

Shanghai vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Shanghai vs.

Quito

Shanghai vs.

Sydney

Shanghai vs.

Cairo

Shanghai vs.

New York City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. United Kingdom. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and United Kingdom.

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 Harlow

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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