Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 27.4% cheaper than Tokyo.

Restaurants: pay 34.0% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 41.5% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 27.0% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 29.1% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 26.4% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.7% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 17.6% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 34.0% less for restaurants

	Tokyo	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.59 ¥1,200	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-41.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.06 ¥800	$5.22 CN¥34.93	+3.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 ¥259	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-63.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ¥140	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-58.2%
Average			-34.0%

Tokyo vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.5% less for groceries

	Tokyo	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 ¥270	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+15.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.29 ¥836	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+62.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.75 ¥909	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+19.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.26 ¥358	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-25.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.08 ¥487	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-52.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.15 ¥340	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-53.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.07 ¥170	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-28.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 ¥309	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-53.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.39 ¥377	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-67.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.53 ¥241	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-76.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 ¥231	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-70.3%
Average			-41.5%

Tokyo vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.0% less for transportation

	Tokyo	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.08 ¥645	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+21.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.27 ¥9,997	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-52.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,725.38 ¥3M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-10.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.47 ¥4,499	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-80.1%
Average			-27.0%

Tokyo vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.1% less for housing

	Tokyo	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.33 ¥4,793	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-65.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,280.34 ¥202K	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	-19.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$692.48 ¥109K	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	-15.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.45 ¥17,926	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-61.2%
Average			-29.1%

Tokyo vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 26.4% more for childcare

	Tokyo	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,341.43 ¥212K	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+5.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,252.10 ¥3M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+51.7%
Average			+26.4%

Tokyo vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Tokyo	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.80 ¥600	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-68.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.56 ¥563	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-6.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.92 ¥620	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-4.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.31 ¥10,478	$65.69 CN¥439.52	-0.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.65 ¥1,999	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-29.3%
Average			-28.7%

Tokyo vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.6% more for clothing

	Tokyo	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.50 ¥8,770	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-2.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.95 ¥5,207	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+12.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.04 ¥10,278	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+16.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.74 ¥11,178	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+49.4%
Average			+17.6%

Tokyo vs. Shanghai - 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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