Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Kenya

Mombasa vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Mombasa is 44.6% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 6.2% more in Mombasa
Groceries: pay 25.0% less in Mombasa
Transportation: pay 9.8% more in Mombasa
Housing: pay 63.9% less in Mombasa
Childcare: pay 89.1% less in Mombasa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.9% less in Mombasa
Clothing: pay 67.0% less in Mombasa

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

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Mombasa vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.2% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Mombasa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.87	$2.69 KES350.19	-39.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.85	$10.39 KES1,350.73	+99.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.71 KES92.55	+18.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.50 KES65.04	+35.3%
Average			+6.2%

Shanghai vs. Mombasa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.0% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Mombasa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.19	$0.52 KES67.54	-73.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.39	$7.03 KES912.99	-18.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.91	$3.63 KES472.14	-47.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$1.78 KES231.12	+4.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.87	$2.23 KES289.32	+50.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$0.96 KES124.81	-3.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.53 KES69.21	-30.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.82 KES105.97	-9.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.31 KES40.73	-59.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.32 KES41.75	-10.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.47 KES60.54	+7.5%
Average			-25.0%

Shanghai vs. Mombasa - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.8% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Mombasa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$5.95 KES773.01	+19.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.12	$38.50 KES5,002.69	+29.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$12,011.09 KES2M	-38.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$16.94 KES2,201.19	+198.9%
Average			+9.8%

Shanghai vs. Mombasa - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.9% less for housing

	Shanghai	Mombasa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.42	$34.65 KES4,502.23	+228.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	$230.98 KES30,016.17	-77.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	$159.12 KES20,677.81	-73.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.08	$59.86 KES7,778.70	+35.9%
Average			-63.9%

Shanghai vs. Mombasa - Cost of housing

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pay 89.1% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Mombasa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	$86.62 KES11,256.06	-93.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$5,389.59 KES700K	-80.5%
Average			-89.1%

Shanghai vs. Mombasa - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Mombasa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.31 KES300.16	+93.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$2.68 KES347.69	-20.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$4.04 KES525.28	+8.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.48	$17.97 KES2,334.59	-72.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.74	$15.40 KES2,001.08	+72.1%
Average			-8.9%

Shanghai vs. Mombasa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 67.0% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Mombasa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.93	$13.09 KES1,700.92	-75.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.61	$13.60 KES1,767.62	-63.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.90	$23.10 KES3,001.62	-69.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.59	$46.20 KES6,003.23	-56.3%
Average			-67.0%

Shanghai vs. Mombasa - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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