Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Australia

Orange vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Orange is 58.4% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.0 times more in Orange
Groceries: pay 54.8% more in Orange
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Orange
Housing: pay 16.2% more in Orange
Childcare: pay 53.3% more in Orange
Entertainment and Sports: pay 86.5% more in Orange
Clothing: pay 34.8% more in Orange

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

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Orange vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.0 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Orange
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.87	$14.27 A$20.77	+219.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.85	$10.44 A$15.20	+100.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$3.13 A$4.56	+422.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.23 A$3.24	+502.3%
Average			+203.3%

Shanghai vs. Orange - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.8% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Orange
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.19	$2.87 A$4.18	+45.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.39	$4.18 A$6.08	-51.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.91	$4.40 A$6.41	-36.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$3.90 A$5.67	+129.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.87	$3.95 A$5.75	+167.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.34 A$1.95	+34.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.14 A$1.65	+47.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.53 A$2.22	+68.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.74 A$2.53	+125.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.79 A$1.15	+120.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$1.14 A$1.67	+164.3%
Average			+54.8%

Shanghai vs. Orange - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Shanghai	Orange
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$5.08 A$7.40	+2.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.12	$191.47 A$278.66	+541.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$29,165.50 A$42,447.24	+50.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$34.81 A$50.67	+514.2%
Average			+117.6%

Shanghai vs. Orange - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.2% more for housing

	Shanghai	Orange
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.42	$50.13 A$72.96	+375.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	$823.88 A$1,199.07	-20.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	$602.25 A$876.51	+2.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.08	$124.05 A$180.55	+181.6%
Average			+16.2%

Shanghai vs. Orange - Cost of housing

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pay 53.3% more for childcare

	Shanghai	Orange
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	$2,167.40 A$3,154.41	+53.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	??
Average			+53.3%

Shanghai vs. Orange - Cost of childcare

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pay 86.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Orange
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$6.96 A$10.13	+483.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$3.48 A$5.07	+3.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$34.53 A$50.25	+826.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.48	$52.22 A$76.00	-20.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.74	$13.23 A$19.25	+47.8%
Average			+86.5%

Shanghai vs. Orange - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.8% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Orange
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.93	$55.00 A$80.05	+1.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.61	$61.50 A$89.51	+65.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.90	$143.89 A$209.42	+90.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.59	$109.08 A$158.75	+3.2%
Average			+34.8%

Shanghai vs. Orange - 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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