Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Oman

Sohar vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Sohar is 5.2% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 41.6% more in Sohar
Groceries: pay 29.4% more in Sohar
Transportation: pay 3.8% less in Sohar
Housing: pay 24.0% less in Sohar
Childcare: pay 76.8% less in Sohar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 80.8% more in Sohar
Clothing: pay 15.1% less in Sohar

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

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Sohar vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 41.6% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Sohar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$6.50 OMR2.500	+45.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$9.10 OMR3.500	+74.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.67 OMR0.260	+11.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.29 OMR0.110	-22.7%
Average			+41.6%

Shanghai vs. Sohar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.4% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Sohar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.08 OMR0.420	-45.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$6.76 OMR2.600	-21.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$8.20 OMR3.150	+19.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.76 OMR1.060	+62.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$4.13 OMR1.590	+179.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.49 OMR0.570	+50.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.97 OMR0.370	+26.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.14 OMR0.440	+26.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.55 OMR0.210	-29.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.81 OMR0.310	+125.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.83 OMR0.320	+90.6%
Average			+29.4%

Shanghai vs. Sohar - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.8% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Sohar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$2.35 OMR0.900	-52.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$52.02 OMR20.000	+74.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$18,206.03 OMR7,000.220	-6.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$15.74 OMR6.050	+177.6%
Average			-3.8%

Shanghai vs. Sohar - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.0% less for housing

	Shanghai	Sohar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$89.08 OMR34.250	+744.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$494.16 OMR190.010	-52.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$383.63 OMR147.500	-34.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$78.31 OMR30.110	+77.8%
Average			-24.0%

Shanghai vs. Sohar - Cost of housing

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pay 76.8% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Sohar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$299.10 OMR115.000	-78.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$7,022.33 OMR2,700.080	-74.6%
Average			-76.8%

Shanghai vs. Sohar - Cost of childcare

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pay 80.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Sohar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$13.00 OMR5.000	+989.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.86 OMR1.870	+45.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$5.98 OMR2.300	+60.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$48.77 OMR18.750	-25.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$11.70 OMR4.500	+30.8%
Average			+80.8%

Shanghai vs. Sohar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.1% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Sohar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$51.15 OMR19.670	-5.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$44.21 OMR17.000	+19.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$78.89 OMR30.330	+4.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$46.82 OMR18.000	-55.7%
Average			-15.1%

Shanghai vs. Sohar - 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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