Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Ras Al-khaimah vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Ras Al-khaimah is 21.2% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Ras Al-khaimah
Groceries: pay 5.3% more in Ras Al-khaimah
Transportation: pay 64.4% more in Ras Al-khaimah
Housing: pay 13.9% more in Ras Al-khaimah
Childcare: pay 81.6% less in Ras Al-khaimah
Entertainment and Sports: pay 91.4% more in Ras Al-khaimah
Clothing: pay 37.8% more in Ras Al-khaimah

The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, housing, and groceries in Ras Al-khaimah are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, restaurants and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Ras Al-khaimah.

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Ras Al-khaimah vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ras Al-khaimah instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Ras Al-khaimah
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$13.61 AED49.99	+204.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$7.62 AED28.00	+46.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.12 AED4.10	+86.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.46 AED1.70	+25.1%
Average			+105.0%

Shanghai vs. Ras Al-khaimah - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.3% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Ras Al-khaimah
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$2.04 AED7.47	+3.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$6.36 AED23.37	-26.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.31 AED23.18	-8.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.36 AED8.65	+38.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.42 AED16.25	+199.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.93 AED3.40	-6.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.74 AED2.72	-3.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.68 AED2.51	-24.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.60 AED2.22	-21.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.43 AED1.59	+20.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.41 AED1.50	-5.6%
Average			+5.3%

Shanghai vs. Ras Al-khaimah - Cost of groceries

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pay 64.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Ras Al-khaimah
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.42 AED12.57	-31.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$113.67 AED417.45	+281.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$45,421.06 AED167K	+134.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$8.20 AED30.12	+44.7%
Average			+64.4%

Shanghai vs. Ras Al-khaimah - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.9% more for housing

	Shanghai	Ras Al-khaimah
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$78.28 AED287.47	+642.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$764.37 AED2,807.14	-26.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$647.38 AED2,377.52	+10.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$94.21 AED345.97	+113.8%
Average			+13.9%

Shanghai vs. Ras Al-khaimah - Cost of housing

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pay 81.6% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Ras Al-khaimah
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$293.54 AED1,078.01	-79.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$4,499.17 AED16,523.20	-83.7%
Average			-81.6%

Shanghai vs. Ras Al-khaimah - Cost of childcare

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pay 91.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Ras Al-khaimah
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$10.21 AED37.50	+755.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$5.60 AED20.55	+67.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$6.81 AED25.00	+82.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$57.05 AED209.50	-13.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$12.93 AED47.49	+44.5%
Average			+91.4%

Shanghai vs. Ras Al-khaimah - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.8% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Ras Al-khaimah
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$82.13 AED301.63	+51.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$52.18 AED191.65	+40.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$117.07 AED429.95	+55.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$115.71 AED424.95	+9.5%
Average			+37.8%

Shanghai vs. Ras Al-khaimah - 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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