Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Japan

Tokyo vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Tokyo is 37.7% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 51.4% more in Tokyo
Groceries: pay 70.8% more in Tokyo
Transportation: pay 37.1% more in Tokyo
Housing: pay 41.1% more in Tokyo
Childcare: pay 20.9% less in Tokyo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.2% more in Tokyo
Clothing: pay 15.0% less in Tokyo

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

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Tokyo vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 51.4% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Tokyo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$7.59 ¥1,200	+69.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.06 ¥800	-3.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.64 ¥259	+173.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.89 ¥140	+139.5%
Average			+51.4%

Shanghai vs. Tokyo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 70.8% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Tokyo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.71 ¥270	-13.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.29 ¥836	-38.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$5.75 ¥909	-16.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.26 ¥358	+33.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$3.08 ¥487	+108.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.15 ¥340	+116.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.07 ¥170	+39.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.96 ¥309	+116.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.39 ¥377	+210.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.53 ¥241	+326.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.46 ¥231	+237.3%
Average			+70.8%

Shanghai vs. Tokyo - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.1% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Tokyo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$4.08 ¥645	-17.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$63.27 ¥9,997	+112.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$21,725.38 ¥3M	+12.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$28.47 ¥4,499	+402.3%
Average			+37.1%

Shanghai vs. Tokyo - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.1% more for housing

	Shanghai	Tokyo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$30.33 ¥4,793	+187.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,280.34 ¥202K	+23.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$692.48 ¥109K	+17.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$113.45 ¥17,926	+157.5%
Average			+41.1%

Shanghai vs. Tokyo - Cost of housing

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pay 20.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Tokyo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$1,341.43 ¥212K	-5.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$18,252.10 ¥3M	-34.1%
Average			-20.9%

Shanghai vs. Tokyo - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Tokyo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$3.80 ¥600	+218.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.56 ¥563	+6.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.92 ¥620	+5.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$66.31 ¥10,478	+0.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$12.65 ¥1,999	+41.4%
Average			+40.2%

Shanghai vs. Tokyo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.0% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Tokyo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$55.50 ¥8,770	+2.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$32.95 ¥5,207	-11.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$65.04 ¥10,278	-13.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$70.74 ¥11,178	-33.1%
Average			-15.0%

Shanghai vs. Tokyo - 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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