Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

United Kingdom

Sunderland vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Sunderland is 47.0% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Sunderland
Groceries: pay 36.8% more in Sunderland
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Sunderland
Housing: pay 19.2% more in Sunderland
Childcare: pay 40.0% less in Sunderland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.0% more in Sunderland
Clothing: pay 28.8% more in Sunderland

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

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

Sunderland vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Sunderland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.87	$18.43 £13.80	+312.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.85	$8.59 £6.43	+64.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$2.35 £1.76	+291.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.98 £1.48	+435.9%
Average			+205.2%

Shanghai vs. Sunderland - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.8% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Sunderland
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.19	$1.39 £1.04	-29.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.39	$4.90 £3.67	-43.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.91	$5.46 £4.09	-20.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$3.59 £2.69	+111.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.87	$4.08 £3.05	+175.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.45 £1.09	+46.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.85 £0.63	+9.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.28 £0.96	+41.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$1.69 £1.26	+119.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.80 £0.60	+123.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.66 £0.49	+52.2%
Average			+36.8%

Shanghai vs. Sunderland - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Shanghai	Sunderland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$7.78 £5.82	+56.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.12	$118.93 £89.04	+298.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$37,779.88 £28,284.70	+95.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$16.87 £12.63	+197.7%
Average			+125.3%

Shanghai vs. Sunderland - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.2% more for housing

	Shanghai	Sunderland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.42	$41.50 £31.07	+293.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	$779.65 £583.70	-24.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	$594.65 £445.19	+1.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.08	$187.17 £140.13	+324.8%
Average			+19.2%

Shanghai vs. Sunderland - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.0% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Sunderland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	$800.57 £599.37	-43.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$17,619.16 £13,190.95	-36.4%
Average			-40.0%

Shanghai vs. Sunderland - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Sunderland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$4.63 £3.46	+287.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.96 £3.71	+48.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$22.46 £16.82	+502.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.48	$39.64 £29.68	-39.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.74	$10.57 £7.91	+18.1%
Average			+56.0%

Shanghai vs. Sunderland - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.8% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Sunderland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.93	$90.79 £67.97	+67.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.61	$47.70 £35.71	+28.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.90	$107.07 £80.16	+41.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.59	$95.51 £71.50	-9.6%
Average			+28.8%

Shanghai vs. Sunderland - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Shanghai vs. Sunderland

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Sunderland?

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Reykjavik

Shanghai vs.

Lima

Shanghai vs.

New York City

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

Paris

Shanghai vs.

Cairo

Shanghai vs.

Sydney

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Sunderland

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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