Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Thailand

Udon Thani vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Udon Thani is 42.4% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 0.1% less in Udon Thani
Groceries: pay 1.4% more in Udon Thani
Transportation: pay 2.2% more in Udon Thani
Housing: pay 73.5% less in Udon Thani
Childcare: pay 77.4% less in Udon Thani
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.7% less in Udon Thani
Clothing: pay 6.5% less in Udon Thani

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

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Udon Thani vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Udon Thani instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.1% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Udon Thani
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.79	$2.38 THB79.77	-46.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.75	$11.88 THB398.87	+127.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥3.99	$0.74 THB24.93	+23.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.46	$0.29 THB9.64	-22.4%
Average			-0.1%

Shanghai vs. Udon Thani - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.4% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Udon Thani
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.15	$1.41 THB47.37	-28.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.24	$8.91 THB299.15	+3.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.79	$9.70 THB325.57	+41.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.30	$1.56 THB52.35	-8.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.84	$1.13 THB37.88	-23.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.62	$1.10 THB37.09	+11.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.43 THB14.47	-44.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.02	$0.94 THB31.44	+3.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.12	$0.94 THB31.66	+22.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.38	$0.67 THB22.62	+88.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.88	$0.46 THB15.60	+7.3%
Average			+1.4%

Shanghai vs. Udon Thani - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Udon Thani
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.05	$4.63 THB155.27	-6.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥198.59	$10.40 THB349.01	-65.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$41,807.16 THB1M	+115.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.73	$12.57 THB421.80	+121.7%
Average			+2.2%

Shanghai vs. Udon Thani - Cost of transportation

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pay 73.5% less for housing

	Shanghai	Udon Thani
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.24	$22.28 THB747.88	+111.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,903.44	$178.25 THB5,983.03	-82.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,919.27	$109.92 THB3,689.53	-81.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥293.30	$46.75 THB1,569.23	+6.1%
Average			-73.5%

Shanghai vs. Udon Thani - Cost of housing

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pay 77.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Udon Thani
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,410.21	$198.06 THB6,647.81	-86.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥184K	$10,100.86 THB339K	-63.5%
Average			-77.4%

Shanghai vs. Udon Thani - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Udon Thani
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.94	$1.78 THB59.83	+49.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.30	$1.49 THB49.86	-55.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.82	$4.23 THB142.10	+13.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥437.32	$92.10 THB3,091.23	+40.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.58	$4.46 THB149.58	-50.2%
Average			-14.7%

Shanghai vs. Udon Thani - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.5% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Udon Thani
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥361.97	$44.07 THB1,479.14	-19.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥246.96	$52.48 THB1,761.67	+41.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥502.56	$69.81 THB2,343.35	-7.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥703.72	$76.25 THB2,559.41	-27.9%
Average			-6.5%

Shanghai vs. Udon Thani - 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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