Cost of living comparison

London, United Kingdom

compared to

Ningbo, China

Ningbo vs. London Cost of Living Summary

Ningbo is 59.7% cheaper than London.

Restaurants: pay 77.5% less in Ningbo
Groceries: pay 24.6% less in Ningbo
Transportation: pay 56.4% less in Ningbo
Housing: pay 80.5% less in Ningbo
Childcare: pay 64.5% less in Ningbo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 66.4% less in Ningbo
Clothing: pay 47.8% less in Ningbo

Expenses including housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, and clothing are lower in Ningbo.

Ningbo vs. London Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ningbo instead of London, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 77.5% less for restaurants

	London	Ningbo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$25.83 £19.47	$3.13 CN¥22.84	-87.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.33 £7.79	$4.73 CN¥34.52	-54.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 £1.85	$0.42 CN¥3.05	-83.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.85 £1.39	$0.28 CN¥2.03	-85.0%
Average			-77.5%

London vs. Ningbo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.6% less for groceries

	London	Ningbo
Bread 1 loaf	$2.07 £1.56	$2.78 CN¥20.29	+34.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.65 £4.26	$9.57 CN¥69.79	+69.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.31 £4.76	$7.64 CN¥55.72	+21.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.45 £3.35	$1.37 CN¥9.98	-69.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.26 £3.21	$2.27 CN¥16.58	-46.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.56 £1.18	$0.94 CN¥6.83	-40.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 £0.57	$0.64 CN¥4.68	-14.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 £1.08	$0.74 CN¥5.41	-48.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.79 £1.35	$0.51 CN¥3.73	-71.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 £0.52	$0.29 CN¥2.12	-57.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.70 £0.53	$0.37 CN¥2.72	-46.8%
Average			-24.6%

London vs. Ningbo - Cost of groceries

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pay 56.4% less for transportation

	London	Ningbo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.39 £5.57	$4.51 CN¥32.90	-39.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$258.31 £194.72	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,531.14 £27,538.74	$20,872.18 CN¥152,279.24	-42.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$35.26 £26.58	$4.45 CN¥32.49	-87.4%
Average			-56.4%

London vs. Ningbo - Cost of transportation

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pay 80.5% less for housing

	London	Ningbo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.63 £31.38	$13.85 CN¥101.01	-66.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,834.46 £2,136.74	$379.18 CN¥2,766.41	-86.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,063.73 £1,555.73	$257.42 CN¥1,878.11	-87.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$263.90 £198.94	$49.89 CN¥364.01	-81.1%
Average			-80.5%

London vs. Ningbo - Cost of housing

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pay 64.5% less for childcare

	London	Ningbo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,333.60 £1,759.17	$595.24 CN¥4,342.78	-74.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,892.30 £21,026.42	$12,697.24 CN¥92,636.54	-54.5%
Average			-64.5%

London vs. Ningbo - Cost of childcare

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pay 66.4% less for entertainment and sports

	London	Ningbo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.27 £6.23	$0.70 CN¥5.08	-91.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.80 £3.62	$2.89 CN¥21.12	-39.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$19.76 £14.90	$4.52 CN¥32.99	-77.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.66 £49.50	$21.74 CN¥158.62	-66.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.14 £12.17	$6.96 CN¥50.76	-56.9%
Average			-66.4%

London vs. Ningbo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.8% less for clothing

	London	Ningbo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$96.94 £73.08	$43.14 CN¥314.71	-55.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.55 £38.11	$29.19 CN¥212.99	-42.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$114.87 £86.60	$69.54 CN¥507.34	-39.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$135.36 £102.04	$62.58 CN¥456.58	-53.8%
Average			-47.8%

London vs. Ningbo - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

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