Cost of living comparison

Russia

compared to

China

Shenzhen vs. Sochi Cost of Living Summary

Shenzhen is 5.7% more expensive than Sochi.

Restaurants: pay 49.4% less in Shenzhen
Groceries: pay 36.4% more in Shenzhen
Transportation: pay 18.5% more in Shenzhen
Housing: pay 0.9% more in Shenzhen
Childcare: pay 67.5% more in Shenzhen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.6% more in Shenzhen
Clothing: pay 33.8% less in Shenzhen

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

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Shenzhen vs. Sochi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shenzhen instead of Sochi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.4% less for restaurants

	Sochi	Shenzhen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.70 RUB996.18	$3.73 CN¥24.96	-68.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.67 RUB483.15	$5.22 CN¥34.94	-8.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.21 RUB102.94	$0.56 CN¥3.72	-54.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 RUB52.66	$0.34 CN¥2.27	-45.2%
Average			-49.4%

Sochi vs. Shenzhen - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.4% more for groceries

	Sochi	Shenzhen
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 RUB69.20	$1.60 CN¥10.72	+97.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.63 RUB394.49	$10.53 CN¥70.45	+127.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.07 RUB346.93	$5.97 CN¥39.93	+46.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.54 RUB131.05	$1.72 CN¥11.53	+11.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.19 RUB186.62	$1.53 CN¥10.22	-30.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.58 RUB49.03	$1.03 CN¥6.90	+79.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 RUB68.68	$0.72 CN¥4.82	-10.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 RUB52.98	$0.87 CN¥5.80	+39.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 RUB70.94	$0.66 CN¥4.39	-21.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 RUB26.04	$0.48 CN¥3.21	+57.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.27 RUB22.59	$0.57 CN¥3.85	+116.6%
Average			+36.4%

Sochi vs. Shenzhen - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.5% more for transportation

	Sochi	Shenzhen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.07 RUB261.57	$5.01 CN¥33.52	+63.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$22.37 CN¥149.73
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,395.60 RUB2M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-17.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.09 RUB348.66	$4.65 CN¥31.14	+13.7%
Average			+18.5%

Sochi vs. Shenzhen - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.9% more for housing

	Sochi	Shenzhen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$7.02 RUB597.71	$16.39 CN¥109.69	+133.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$760.36 RUB64,751.69	$759.98 CN¥5,086.34
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$409.42 RUB34,866.29	$476.09 CN¥3,186.33	+16.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.39 RUB7,782.79	$48.84 CN¥326.85	-46.6%
Average			+0.9%

Sochi vs. Shenzhen - Cost of housing

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pay 67.5% more for childcare

	Sochi	Shenzhen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$315.84 RUB26,896.86	$528.93 CN¥3,540.00	+67.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$24,029.94 CN¥161K
Average			+67.5%

Sochi vs. Shenzhen - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Sochi	Shenzhen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.17 RUB99.62	$1.49 CN¥9.98	+27.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.85 RUB242.64	$3.31 CN¥22.17	+16.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.69 RUB229.12	$4.47 CN¥29.95	+66.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.01 RUB3,151.66	$49.66 CN¥332.35	+34.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.72 RUB231.86	$7.45 CN¥49.86	+173.6%
Average			+57.6%

Sochi vs. Shenzhen - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.8% less for clothing

	Sochi	Shenzhen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.88 RUB6,973.26	$54.66 CN¥365.85	-33.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$78.96 RUB6,724.21	$39.75 CN¥266.03	-49.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$115.52 RUB9,837.28	$72.46 CN¥484.98	-37.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.89 RUB8,592.05	$91.98 CN¥615.57	-8.8%
Average			-33.8%

Sochi vs. Shenzhen - 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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