Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Germany

Siegen vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Siegen is 23.3% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.2 times more in Siegen
Groceries: pay 42.4% more in Siegen
Transportation: pay 89.5% more in Siegen
Housing: pay 8.4% more in Siegen
Childcare: pay 88.6% less in Siegen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.9% more in Siegen
Clothing: pay 20.7% less in Siegen

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

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Siegen vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.2 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Siegen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.87	$13.32 €11.95	+197.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.85	$11.20 €10.05	+114.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$3.73 €3.35	+522.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$3.27 €2.93	+782.9%
Average			+218.6%

Shanghai vs. Siegen - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.4% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Siegen
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.19	$1.93 €1.73	-2.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.39	$7.05 €6.33	-17.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.91	$4.93 €4.42	-28.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$3.41 €3.06	+100.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.87	$5.62 €5.04	+280.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.36 €1.22	+36.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.87 €0.78	+13.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.96 €0.86	+6.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$2.11 €1.89	+173.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.62 €0.56	+73.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.62 €0.56	+42.8%
Average			+42.4%

Shanghai vs. Siegen - Cost of groceries

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pay 89.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Siegen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$7.92 €7.10	+59.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.12	$70.54 €63.29	+136.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$30,434.41 €27,304.23	+57.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$19.76 €17.73	+248.7%
Average			+89.5%

Shanghai vs. Siegen - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.4% more for housing

	Shanghai	Siegen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.42	$51.47 €46.17	+387.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	$627.05 €562.56	-39.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	$503.88 €452.06	-14.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.08	$256.88 €230.46	+483.1%
Average			+8.4%

Shanghai vs. Siegen - Cost of housing

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pay 88.6% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Siegen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	$161.24 €144.66	-88.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	??
Average			-88.6%

Shanghai vs. Siegen - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Siegen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$4.48 €4.02	+275.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$3.92 €3.52	+17.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$9.74 €8.74	+161.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.48	$30.23 €27.12	-54.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.74	$13.44 €12.05	+50.1%
Average			+34.9%

Shanghai vs. Siegen - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.7% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Siegen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.93	$33.59 €30.14	-38.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.61	$27.99 €25.11	-24.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.90	$89.58 €80.37	+18.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.59	$75.58 €67.81	-28.5%
Average			-20.7%

Shanghai vs. Siegen - 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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