Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Poland

Krakow (Cracow) vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Krakow (Cracow) is 29.0% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.7 times more in Krakow (Cracow)
Groceries: pay 4.2% more in Krakow (Cracow)
Transportation: pay 38.2% more in Krakow (Cracow)
Housing: pay 38.7% more in Krakow (Cracow)
Childcare: pay 66.3% less in Krakow (Cracow)
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.0% more in Krakow (Cracow)
Clothing: pay 27.8% more in Krakow (Cracow)

The cost of restaurants, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries in Krakow (Cracow) are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Krakow (Cracow).

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Krakow (Cracow) vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Krakow (Cracow) instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Krakow (Cracow)
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$12.02 PLN46.68	+168.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$9.72 PLN37.74	+86.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.53 PLN9.84	+322.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.38 PLN9.25	+543.7%
Average			+169.7%

Shanghai vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.2% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Krakow (Cracow)
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.49 PLN5.81	-24.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.63 PLN17.97	-46.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.10 PLN15.93	-40.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.89 PLN15.12	+129.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$3.52 PLN13.68	+138.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.60 PLN2.33	-39.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.78 PLN3.03	+1.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.80 PLN3.12	-11.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.39 PLN5.41	+80.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.41 PLN1.60	+15.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.45 PLN1.76	+4.7%
Average			+4.2%

Shanghai vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.2% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Krakow (Cracow)
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$6.53 PLN25.37	+31.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$33.49 PLN130.12	+12.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$30,576.90 PLN119K	+57.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$10.48 PLN40.72	+85.0%
Average			+38.2%

Shanghai vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.7% more for housing

	Shanghai	Krakow (Cracow)
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$17.57 PLN68.25	+66.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$926.42 PLN3,598.87	-10.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$727.94 PLN2,827.84	+23.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$252.82 PLN982.14	+473.9%
Average			+38.7%

Shanghai vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of housing

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pay 66.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Krakow (Cracow)
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$458.26 PLN1,780.21	-67.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$9,687.47 PLN37,633.06	-65.0%
Average			-66.3%

Shanghai vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Krakow (Cracow)
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$4.60 PLN17.88	+285.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.20 PLN16.33	+25.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$6.39 PLN24.83	+71.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$45.50 PLN176.74	-30.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$8.69 PLN33.77	-2.9%
Average			+31.0%

Shanghai vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.8% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Krakow (Cracow)
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$97.55 PLN378.96	+79.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$40.65 PLN157.93	+9.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$89.86 PLN349.09	+19.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$120.34 PLN467.49	+13.8%
Average			+27.8%

Shanghai vs. Krakow (Cracow) - 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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