---
title: "Cost of Living: Shanghai vs Rome — Geo-Parity"
description: "Italy is 66% more expensive than China for monthly essentials ($1,631 vs $981). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-italy/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=IT"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · CN vs IT

# 🇨🇳 Shanghai vs 🇮🇹 Rome: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$981** in China vs **$1,631** in Italy — 66% more expensive.

- **Essentials, China**: $981/mo
- **Essentials, Italy**: $1,631/mo
- **Difference**: +66%
- **1-bed city rent, Italy**: $1,124/mo

## Biggest differences

Smallest premium in Italy

- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: +18%
- Running shoes (brand): +18%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): +18%

Pricier in Italy

- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +79%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +79%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +79%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | China | Italy | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $628 | $1,124 (995 EUR) | +79% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $502 | $899 (796 EUR) | +79% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,149 | $2,056 (1,819 EUR) | +79% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $8.05 | $12.71 (11 EUR) | +58% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $33.53 | $52.97 (47 EUR) | +58% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $5.29 | $8.02 (7 EUR) | +52% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.61 | $0.85 (1 EUR) | +39% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.78 | $2.49 (2 EUR) | +40% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.89 | $2.64 (2 EUR) | +40% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.57 | $7.77 (7 EUR) | +40% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.23 | $3.11 (3 EUR) | +39% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.67 | $3.73 (3 EUR) | +40% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $6.68 | $9.32 (8 EUR) | +40% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.11 | $1.55 (1 EUR) | +40% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.68 | $4.24 (4 EUR) | +58% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.97 | $7.05 (6 EUR) | +18% |
| Cappuccino | $2.24 | $3.53 (3 EUR) | +58% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.28 | $1.79 (2 EUR) | +40% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $31.27 | $47.39 (42 EUR) | +52% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.32 | $2.00 (2 EUR) | +52% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.79 | $2.83 (3 EUR) | +58% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.80 | $1.27 (1 EUR) | +59% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.71 | $0.84 (1 EUR) | +18% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $96.20 | $146 (129 EUR) | +52% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $33.67 | $51.03 (45 EUR) | +52% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $21.65 | $32.81 (29 EUR) | +52% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $22.35 | $35.32 (31 EUR) | +58% |
| Cinema seat | $6.26 | $9.89 (9 EUR) | +58% |
| Men's haircut | $13.41 | $21.19 (19 EUR) | +58% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $41.04 | $48.47 (43 EUR) | +18% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $67.16 | $79.31 (70 EUR) | +18% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $112 | $177 (156 EUR) | +58% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=CN&target=IT).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **7,658 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇨🇳 China | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $767 | $3,428 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | — | $1,033 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | — | 30.1% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $246 | $758 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.1 | 4.2 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Shanghai and Rome. | 77 | 76 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | middling | middling |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.9 (low) | 3 (low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 6 | 13 + 1 regional |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 32.1 | 13.7 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 78 | 84 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 91.6% | 89.2% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 31.4 | 153.5 |

## The whole China → Italy move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the China → Italy report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/china-to-italy/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Italy vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/italy-vs-china/)
- [Fair salary: China → Italy](https://geo-parity.com/salary/china-to-italy/)
- [How much to retire in Italy?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/italy/)
- [Cost of living in Italy vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/italy/)

## More comparisons

### China compared with

- [China vs France](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-france/)
- [China vs Spain](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-spain/)
- [China vs Germany](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-germany/)
- [China vs Japan](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-japan/)
- [China vs Netherlands](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-netherlands/)
- [China vs Ireland](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-ireland/)

### Moving to Italy from

- [Chile vs Italy](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/chile-vs-italy/)
- [Saudi Arabia vs Italy](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/saudi-arabia-vs-italy/)
- [Argentina vs Italy](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-italy/)
- [Brazil vs Italy](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/brazil-vs-italy/)
- [Poland vs Italy](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/poland-vs-italy/)
- [Hungary vs Italy](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/hungary-vs-italy/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much more expensive is Italy than China?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,631 in Italy versus $981 in China — 66% more. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Italy?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $4.24 in Italy (≈ 3.75 EUR), versus about $2.68 in China.
- **How much is rent in Italy compared to China?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,124/month in Italy versus $628/month in China (+79%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=IT.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-italy/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=IT