Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Japan

Osaka vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Osaka is 4.4% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 34.1% more in Osaka
Groceries: pay 24.3% more in Osaka
Transportation: pay 16.2% more in Osaka
Housing: pay 3.1% less in Osaka
Childcare: pay 58.5% less in Osaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.7% more in Osaka
Clothing: pay 12.0% less in Osaka

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

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Osaka vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 34.1% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Osaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$6.33 ¥992	+41.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$5.00 ¥784	-4.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$1.40 ¥220	+134.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.73 ¥114	+96.3%
Average			+34.1%

Shanghai vs. Osaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.3% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Osaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.32 ¥207	-33.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$4.81 ¥754	-44.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$5.58 ¥876	-18.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.08 ¥327	+22.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$4.23 ¥664	+186.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.53 ¥239	+53.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.89 ¥140	+15.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.93 ¥146	+3.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.83 ¥287	+137.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.70 ¥109	+94.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.52 ¥82	+21.0%
Average			+24.3%

Shanghai vs. Osaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.2% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Osaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$4.09 ¥642	-17.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$32.27 ¥5,061	+8.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$21,725.38 ¥3M	+12.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$29.10 ¥4,565	+413.5%
Average			+16.2%

Shanghai vs. Osaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.1% less for housing

	Shanghai	Osaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$30.62 ¥4,803	+190.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$700.14 ¥110K	-32.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$507.53 ¥79,614	-13.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$106.02 ¥16,632	+140.7%
Average			-3.1%

Shanghai vs. Osaka - Cost of housing

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pay 58.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Osaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$516.34 ¥80,995	-63.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$13,074.87 ¥2M	-52.8%
Average			-58.5%

Shanghai vs. Osaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Osaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.69 ¥422	+125.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$2.93 ¥460	-12.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$3.92 ¥615	+5.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$49.82 ¥7,815	-24.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$12.02 ¥1,886	+34.3%
Average			+15.7%

Shanghai vs. Osaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.0% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Osaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$47.85 ¥7,507	-12.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$30.58 ¥4,797	-17.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$73.22 ¥11,485	-3.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$90.04 ¥14,124	-14.8%
Average			-12.0%

Shanghai vs. Osaka - 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Shanghai is about 28 times bigger than Osaka.

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