Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Tulcea

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulcea: $986 a month against $1,222 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Tulcea
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Tulcea Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Tulcea

🇷🇴 Romania

$986

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Tulcea

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 Tulcea actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Shanghai versus $986 in Tulcea.

Shanghai $1,222
Tulcea $986

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,971 in Shanghai versus $1,559 in Tulcea.

Shanghai $1,971
Tulcea $1,559

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,720 in Shanghai versus $2,132 in Tulcea.

Shanghai $2,720
Tulcea $2,132

Living in Shanghai is roughly 24% more expensive than in Tulcea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shanghai 10% lower, Tulcea 28% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.53 ¥30.07

$11.70 RON 56.0

-61.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.16 ¥200

$46.31 RON 222

-34.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥33.99

$7.87 RON 37.66

-35.07%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥22.67

$2.07 RON 9.88

64.73%

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

$0.58 ¥3.85

$2.12 RON 10.12

-72.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.36

$1.06 RON 5.08

-66.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.21

$2.07 RON 9.90

-40.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ¥15.35

$2.04 RON 9.77

13.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.50

$1.61 RON 7.72

16.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 ¥12.86

$1.04 RON 4.96

86.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.51

$1.44 RON 6.88

-31.94%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.29

$3.16 RON 15.10

-46.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.02 ¥113

$7.51 RON 35.95

126.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.22 ¥21.38

$6.89 RON 32.95

-53.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥85.9

$9.10 RON 43.53

42.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 ¥14.29

$1.35 RON 6.45

59.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.46

$1.64 RON 7.83

5.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.49

$1.42 RON 6.81

42.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.52

$1.99 RON 9.54

-13.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.50

$0.74 RON 3.52

12.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.12

$0.70 RON 3.35

31.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.47

$0.67 RON 3.22

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$0.77 RON 3.68

-23.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.06

$6.42 RON 30.73

-41.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 ¥73.3

$6.33 RON 30.30

74.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥5.99

$1.00 RON 4.80

-10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.66

$1.42 RON 6.80

12.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 ¥3.80

$1.07 RON 5.12

-46.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ¥197

$17.84 RON 85.4

66.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ¥14.23

$0.64 RON 3.08

234.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.10

$0.62 RON 2.95

-24.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.74 ¥58.1

$6.36 RON 30.43

37.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.92

$1.74 RON 8.32

-22.99%

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

$19.3K ¥127.9K

$28.1K RON 134.5K

-31.53%

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

$18.3K ¥121.5K

$24.9K RON 119.1K

-26.56%

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

$58.9 ¥391

$134 RON 640

-55.98%

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

$7.90 ¥52.5

$7.76 RON 37.12

1.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.60 ¥70.4

$8.60 RON 41.14

23.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.8 ¥431

$31.52 RON 151

105.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 ¥116

$16.60 RON 79.4

5.24%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 ¥60.2

$8.32 RON 39.82

8.89%

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

$1,587 ¥10.5K

$319 RON 1,525

397.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K ¥187.6K

$3,187 RON 15.2K

786.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 ¥363

$52.0 RON 249

5.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.21 ¥247

$31.54 RON 151

17.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 ¥495

$91.1 RON 436

-18.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥706

$95.8 RON 458

10.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 ¥6,816

$343 RON 1,642

198.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,716

$274 RON 1,309

104.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,618 ¥17.4K

$585 RON 2,800

347.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ¥7,915

$499 RON 2,386

138.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K ¥88.9K

$990 RON 4,738

1250.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,527 ¥43.4K

$856 RON 4,093

662.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 ¥11.4K

$648 RON 3,101

164.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

6.85

-50.95%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 25, 2026

Last update for Tulcea: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$559 45.8%

Tulcea

$274 27.8% 51.1% $286

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$237 19.4%

Tulcea

$197 20% 16.5% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$123 10%

Tulcea

$122 12.3% 0.8% $1

Eating Out

Shanghai

$107 8.8%

Tulcea

$169 17.2% 58.1% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$83 6.8%

Tulcea

$48 4.9% 41.9% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$77 6.3%

Tulcea

$150 15.2% 94% $73

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 3%

Tulcea

$26 2.6% 29% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,026 in Shanghai and $343 in Tulcea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $30 in Shanghai vs $46 in Tulcea. Groceries flip the comparison at $237 vs $197, with Tulcea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇷🇴 Tulcea

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

10:00 10:00 AM

6 h behind Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

73,707

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Shanghai Tulcea 7,800 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
Tulcea

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 Tulcea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,222 in Shanghai and $986 in Tulcea, so Tulcea is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Shanghai is about 2.6 times higher, 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 $343 in Tulcea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,587 in Shanghai versus $319 in Tulcea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Shanghai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $986 in Tulcea versus $1,222 in Shanghai, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Tulcea but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Tulcea the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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