Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

China

Wenzhou vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Wenzhou is 43.6% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 9.5% less in Wenzhou
Groceries: pay 17.9% less in Wenzhou
Transportation: pay 5.1% less in Wenzhou
Housing: pay 69.5% less in Wenzhou
Childcare: pay 43.5% less in Wenzhou
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.3% less in Wenzhou
Clothing: pay 31.5% less in Wenzhou

Expenses including housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Wenzhou.

Wenzhou vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.5% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Wenzhou
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$2.98 CN¥19.91	-33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$7.46 CN¥49.77	+42.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.51 CN¥3.38	-15.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.29 CN¥1.91	-22.7%
Average			-9.5%

Shanghai vs. Wenzhou - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.9% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Wenzhou
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.99 CN¥13.27	+0.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-56.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$7.76 CN¥51.81	+12.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$1.92 CN¥12.84	+13.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$1.02 CN¥6.78	-31.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$0.84 CN¥5.61	-15.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.83 CN¥5.51	+7.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$0.78 CN¥5.20	-13.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$0.49 CN¥3.30	-35.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.27 CN¥1.81	-24.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.34 CN¥2.26	-21.9%
Average			-17.9%

Shanghai vs. Wenzhou - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.1% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Wenzhou
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$4.70 CN¥31.39	-5.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$19,374.76 CN¥129K
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$4.62 CN¥30.86	-18.4%
Average			-5.1%

Shanghai vs. Wenzhou - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.5% less for housing

	Shanghai	Wenzhou
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$8.95 CN¥59.73	-15.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$242.37 CN¥1,617.58	-76.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$169.04 CN¥1,128.16	-71.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$22.81 CN¥152.24	-48.2%
Average			-69.5%

Shanghai vs. Wenzhou - Cost of housing

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pay 43.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Wenzhou
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$1,267.79 CN¥8,461.21	-10.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$9,843.99 CN¥65,698.77	-64.4%
Average			-43.5%

Shanghai vs. Wenzhou - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Wenzhou
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$0.89 CN¥5.97	-25.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$2.68 CN¥17.92	-19.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$3.36 CN¥22.40	-10.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$13.67 CN¥91.25	-79.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$7.46 CN¥49.77	-16.7%
Average			-42.3%

Shanghai vs. Wenzhou - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.5% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Wenzhou
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$43.25 CN¥288.68	-20.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$18.89 CN¥126.09	-49.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$96.90 CN¥646.70	+28.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$44.75 CN¥298.63	-57.7%
Average			-31.5%

Shanghai vs. Wenzhou - 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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