Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Albania

Sarande vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Sarande is 11.8% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Sarande
Groceries: pay 21.6% more in Sarande
Transportation: pay 56.9% more in Sarande
Housing: pay 13.4% less in Sarande
Childcare: pay 75.3% less in Sarande
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.0% more in Sarande
Clothing: pay 30.5% more in Sarande

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

Planning a move to Albania? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Sarande vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Sarande
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$9.77 ALL794	+118.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$10.99 ALL893	+110.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.38 ALL193	+297.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.15 ALL93	+209.6%
Average			+137.0%

Shanghai vs. Sarande - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.6% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Sarande
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.18 ALL96	-40.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$6.45 ALL524	-24.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$8.47 ALL688	+23.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.77 ALL306	+121.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.12 ALL335	+178.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.89 ALL72	-10.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.12 ALL91	+45.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.92 ALL75	+2.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.84 ALL68	+9.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.47 ALL38	+30.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.58 ALL47	+33.4%
Average			+21.6%

Shanghai vs. Sarande - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.9% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Sarande
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$8.32 ALL676	+67.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$22.39 ALL1,819	-24.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$33,592.07 ALL3M	+73.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$32.98 ALL2,678	+481.9%
Average			+56.9%

Shanghai vs. Sarande - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.4% less for housing

	Shanghai	Sarande
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$19.91 ALL1,617	+88.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$848.28 ALL68,894	-18.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$380.02 ALL30,864	-35.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$74.95 ALL6,088	+70.1%
Average			-13.4%

Shanghai vs. Sarande - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 75.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Sarande
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$299.78 ALL24,347	-78.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$7,964.27 ALL647K	-71.2%
Average			-75.3%

Shanghai vs. Sarande - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Sarande
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$3.54 ALL288	+196.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.19 ALL178	-34.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$4.76 ALL387	+27.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$88.90 ALL7,220	+35.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$9.77 ALL794	+9.2%
Average			+29.0%

Shanghai vs. Sarande - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.5% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Sarande
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$69.87 ALL5,675	+28.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$47.44 ALL3,853	+27.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$122.26 ALL9,930	+62.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$115.33 ALL9,367	+9.1%
Average			+30.5%

Shanghai vs. Sarande - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Shanghai vs. Sarande

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Sarande?

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

Toronto

Shanghai vs.

Quito

Shanghai vs.

Dublin

Shanghai vs.

Vienna

Shanghai vs.

London

Shanghai vs.

New York City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. Albania. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and Albania.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Shanghai

Add prices for Sarande

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sarande or Shanghai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.