Cost of living comparison

Shanghai, China

compared to

Moscow, Russia

Moscow vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Moscow is 1.2% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 68.8% more in Moscow
Groceries: pay 24.0% less in Moscow
Transportation: pay 4.0% less in Moscow
Housing: pay 11.8% more in Moscow
Childcare: pay 62.4% less in Moscow
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.8% less in Moscow
Clothing: pay 22.1% more in Moscow

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

Moscow vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 68.8% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Moscow
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥29.97	$9.19 RUB730.11	+120.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 CN¥39.49	$5.10 RUB405.62	-7.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 CN¥3.69	$1.07 RUB85.21	+108.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.32 CN¥2.26	$0.49 RUB38.56	+53.8%
Average			+68.8%

Shanghai vs. Moscow - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.0% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Moscow
Bread 1 loaf	$2.01 CN¥14.40	$0.62 RUB49.16	-69.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.94 CN¥57.02	$4.41 RUB350.15	-44.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.61 CN¥61.80	$3.57 RUB283.46	-58.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.69 CN¥12.11	$1.52 RUB120.75	-9.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.90	$1.99 RUB157.79	+30.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 CN¥7.38	$0.68 RUB53.82	-34.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CN¥5.27	$0.67 RUB53.04	-9.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.63	$0.72 RUB56.86	-22.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.33	$1.12 RUB89.28	+51.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥3.07	$0.25 RUB19.80	-41.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 CN¥3.43	$0.21 RUB16.63	-56.2%
Average			-24.0%

Shanghai vs. Moscow - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.0% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Moscow
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 CN¥31.58	$2.22 RUB176.28	-49.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.79 CN¥249.79	$28.58 RUB2,271.45	-17.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,844.35 CN¥149,674.93	$30,621.85 RUB2,433,691.94	+46.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.57 CN¥39.97	$5.82 RUB462.40	+4.5%
Average			-4.0%

Shanghai vs. Moscow - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.8% more for housing

	Shanghai	Moscow
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.44 CN¥118.08	$6.38 RUB506.93	-61.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,017.22 CN¥7,304.24	$960.52 RUB76,337.98	-5.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$526.38 CN¥3,779.70	$583.26 RUB46,355.21	+10.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.67 CN¥306.36	$86.66 RUB6,887.32	+103.1%
Average			+11.8%

Shanghai vs. Moscow - Cost of housing

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pay 62.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Moscow
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,147.00 CN¥8,236.17	$466.53 RUB37,078.01	-59.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,296.28 CN¥217,545.50	$10,413.52 RUB827,621.44	-65.6%
Average			-62.4%

Shanghai vs. Moscow - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Moscow
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.39 CN¥9.99	$3.06 RUB243.37	+120.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.53 CN¥25.33	$2.52 RUB200.63	-28.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥24.98	$2.45 RUB194.70	-29.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.86 CN¥401.14	$32.34 RUB2,570.13	-42.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥59.95	$5.10 RUB405.62	-38.9%
Average			-3.8%

Shanghai vs. Moscow - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Moscow
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.36 CN¥426.25	$81.16 RUB6,449.88	+36.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.88 CN¥279.16	$42.31 RUB3,362.45	+8.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.91 CN¥559.47	$108.95 RUB8,659.07	+39.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.07 CN¥711.37	$101.97 RUB8,104.13	+2.9%
Average			+22.1%

Shanghai vs. Moscow - 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: May 2025

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