Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Craiova

For one person, living costs are similar in Shanghai and in Craiova: $1,222 and $1,217 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Craiova
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Craiova Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Craiova

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,217

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Craiova

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Shanghai and in Craiova actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Shanghai versus $1,217 in Craiova.

Shanghai $1,222
Craiova $1,217

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,971 in Shanghai versus $1,869 in Craiova.

Shanghai $1,971
Craiova $1,869

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,720 in Shanghai versus $2,520 in Craiova.

Shanghai $2,720
Craiova $2,520

Monthly costs are close between Shanghai and Craiova; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shanghai 10% lower, Craiova 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.53 ¥30.07

$7.14 RON 34.15

-36.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.16 ¥200

$41.37 RON 198

-27.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥33.99

$7.45 RON 35.64

-31.41%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥22.67

$2.71 RON 12.98

25.83%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.85

$2.23 RON 10.65

-73.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.36

$1.77 RON 8.46

-80.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.21

$2.24 RON 10.71

-45.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ¥15.35

$3.51 RON 16.80

-34.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.50

$1.27 RON 6.09

48.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 ¥12.86

$0.82 RON 3.93

136.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.51

$1.42 RON 6.77

-30.99%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.29

$3.26 RON 15.57

-47.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.02 ¥113

$7.21 RON 34.51

136.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.22 ¥21.38

$6.47 RON 30.95

-50.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥85.9

$11.49 RON 55.0

12.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 ¥14.29

$0.95 RON 4.53

126.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.46

$1.50 RON 7.16

15.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.49

$1.45 RON 6.94

40.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.52

$1.80 RON 8.62

-3.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.50

$0.76 RON 3.65

9.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.12

$0.89 RON 4.28

3.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.47

$0.73 RON 3.51

-8.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$0.77 RON 3.67

-23.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.06

$6.59 RON 31.51

-42.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 ¥73.3

$6.34 RON 30.33

73.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥5.99

$1.20 RON 5.76

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.66

$1.46 RON 7.00

9.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 ¥3.80

$0.88 RON 4.20

-35.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ¥197

$25.16 RON 120

17.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ¥14.23

$0.61 RON 2.93

250.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.10

$0.65 RON 3.09

-27.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.74 ¥58.1

$6.37 RON 30.49

37.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.92

$1.90 RON 9.11

-29.47%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.3K ¥127.9K

$28.9K RON 138.1K

-33.33%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$18.3K ¥121.5K

$25.8K RON 123.6K

-29.24%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$58.9 ¥391

$216 RON 1,036

-72.79%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$7.90 ¥52.5

$9.24 RON 44.23

-14.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.60 ¥70.4

$11.57 RON 55.4

-8.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.8 ¥431

$38.59 RON 185

67.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 ¥116

$21.52 RON 103

-18.82%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 ¥60.2

$7.28 RON 34.81

24.45%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,587 ¥10.5K

$411 RON 1,964

286.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K ¥187.6K

$8,047 RON 38.5K

250.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 ¥363

$62.9 RON 301

-13.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.21 ¥247

$50.6 RON 242

-26.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 ¥495

$82.8 RON 396

-9.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥706

$103 RON 495

2.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 ¥6,816

$532 RON 2,544

92.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,716

$418 RON 2,002

33.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,618 ¥17.4K

$910 RON 4,352

187.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ¥7,915

$829 RON 3,966

43.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K ¥88.9K

$2,703 RON 12.9K

394.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,527 ¥43.4K

$1,988 RON 9,509

228.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 ¥11.4K

$914 RON 4,374

87.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

6.84

-50.88%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Shanghai: October 25, 2026

Last update for Craiova: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$559 45.8%

Craiova

$418 34.4% 25.2% $141

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$237 19.4%

Craiova

$194 16% 17.8% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$123 10%

Craiova

$135 11.1% 9.9% $12

Eating Out

Shanghai

$107 8.8%

Craiova

$146 12% 36.6% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$83 6.8%

Craiova

$53 4.4% 35.9% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$77 6.3%

Craiova

$237 19.5% 207% $160

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 3%

Craiova

$33 2.7% 10.6% $3.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,026 in Shanghai and $532 in Craiova. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 87% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $30 in Shanghai vs $41 in Craiova. Groceries flip the comparison at $237 vs $194, with Craiova cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇷🇴 Craiova

🕒 Local time

11:59 11:59 AM

05:59 5:59 AM

6 h behind Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

269,506

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shanghai Craiova 8,200 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
Craiova

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Shanghai vs Craiova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 87% higher in Shanghai, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,026 in Shanghai versus $532 in Craiova. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,587 in Shanghai versus $411 in Craiova. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Shanghai – a meal for two runs $30 versus $41 in Craiova. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Craiova is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Craiova wins on affordability, Shanghai on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.