Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Poland

Katowice vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Katowice is 8.2% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in Katowice
Groceries: pay 12.3% less in Katowice
Transportation: pay 30.0% more in Katowice
Housing: pay 4.1% more in Katowice
Childcare: pay 58.0% less in Katowice
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8% more in Katowice
Clothing: pay 2.9% more in Katowice

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

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Katowice vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Katowice
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$10.23 PLN40.19	+128.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$8.95 PLN35.17	+71.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$2.71 PLN10.67	+352.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.58 PLN10.13	+596.5%
Average			+147.4%

Shanghai vs. Katowice - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.3% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Katowice
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.23 PLN4.84	-37.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.98 PLN15.64	-53.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$3.56 PLN13.99	-48.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$3.30 PLN12.96	+94.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$2.49 PLN9.77	+68.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$0.48 PLN1.88	-51.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.64 PLN2.53	-16.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.66 PLN2.59	-27.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.17 PLN4.59	+51.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.43 PLN1.70	+20.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.39 PLN1.53	-10.3%
Average			-12.3%

Shanghai vs. Katowice - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.0% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Katowice
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$6.40 PLN25.15	+28.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$30.68 PLN120.58	+2.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$30,681.73 PLN121K	+58.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$7.52 PLN29.54	+32.6%
Average			+30.0%

Shanghai vs. Katowice - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.1% more for housing

	Shanghai	Katowice
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$17.50 PLN68.79	+65.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$690.34 PLN2,713.11	-33.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$511.93 PLN2,011.94	-13.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$208.84 PLN820.77	+374.0%
Average			+4.1%

Shanghai vs. Katowice - Cost of housing

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pay 58.0% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Katowice
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$566.76 PLN2,227.43	-59.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$12,209.09 PLN47,983.09	-55.9%
Average			-58.0%

Shanghai vs. Katowice - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Katowice
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$3.58 PLN14.07	+200.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$3.44 PLN13.53	+2.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$5.69 PLN22.36	+52.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$30.94 PLN121.59	-52.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$7.29 PLN28.64	-18.6%
Average			+2.8%

Shanghai vs. Katowice - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Katowice
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$69.21 PLN272.02	+27.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$31.48 PLN123.71	-15.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$89.23 PLN350.69	+18.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$92.99 PLN365.47	-12.0%
Average			+2.9%

Shanghai vs. Katowice - 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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