Cost of Living · CN vs NL
🇨🇳 Shanghai vs 🇳🇱 Amsterdam: what everyday life costs
Monthly essentials: $1,011 in China vs $1,837 in Netherlands — 81.63% more expensive.
Biggest differences
Much cheaper in Netherlands
- ⛽ Petrol/gasoline, 1L: 20.83%
- 👖 Jeans (mid-range brand): 21.54%
- 🍻 Imported beer, 330ml bottle: 21.56%
Closest to China prices
- 🏢 Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +97.98%
- 🏡 Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +97.98%
- 🏙️ Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +97.98%
The full basket (32 items)
| Item | China | Netherlands | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| 🏙️ Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $650 | $1,287 (1,189 EUR) | +97.98% |
| 🏡 Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $520 | $1,030 (951 EUR) | +97.98% |
| 🏢 Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,189 | $2,354 (2,175 EUR) | +97.98% |
| Food out | |||
| 🍜 Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $8.27 | $14.14 (13 EUR) | +70.98% |
| 🍽️ Dinner for two, mid-range | $34.45 | $58.92 (54 EUR) | +71.03% |
| 🍔 Fast-food combo meal | $5.42 | $8.83 (8 EUR) | +62.92% |
| Groceries | |||
| 🥛 Milk, 1L | $0.62 | $0.92 (1 EUR) | +48.39% |
| 🍞 Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.82 | $2.68 (2 EUR) | +47.25% |
| 🥚 Eggs, dozen | $1.93 | $2.85 (3 EUR) | +47.67% |
| 🍗 Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.68 | $8.39 (8 EUR) | +47.71% |
| 🍚 White rice, 1kg | $2.27 | $3.36 (3 EUR) | +48.02% |
| 🍎 Apples, 1kg | $2.73 | $4.03 (4 EUR) | +47.62% |
| 🧀 Local cheese, 1kg | $6.81 | $10.07 (9 EUR) | +47.87% |
| 💧 Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.14 | $1.68 (2 EUR) | +47.37% |
| Drinks | |||
| 🍺 Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.76 | $4.71 (4 EUR) | +70.65% |
| 🍻 Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.03 | $7.33 (7 EUR) | +21.56% |
| ☕ Cappuccino | $2.30 | $3.93 (4 EUR) | +70.87% |
| 🥤 Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.31 | $1.93 (2 EUR) | +47.33% |
| Transport | |||
| 🚇 Public transport, monthly pass | $32.05 | $52.20 (48 EUR) | +62.87% |
| 🎫 Public transport, one-way | $1.36 | $2.21 (2 EUR) | +62.5% |
| 🚕 Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.84 | $3.14 (3 EUR) | +70.65% |
| 🛣️ Taxi, per km | $0.83 | $1.41 (1 EUR) | +69.88% |
| ⛽ Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.72 | $0.87 (1 EUR) | +20.83% |
| Utilities & comms | |||
| 💡 Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $98.60 | $161 (148 EUR) | +62.88% |
| 🌐 Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $34.51 | $56.21 (52 EUR) | +62.88% |
| 📱 Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $22.19 | $36.14 (33 EUR) | +62.87% |
| Lifestyle | |||
| 🏋️ Gym membership, month | $22.97 | $39.28 (36 EUR) | +71.01% |
| 🎬 Cinema seat | $6.43 | $11.00 (10 EUR) | +71.07% |
| 💈 Men's haircut | $13.78 | $23.57 (22 EUR) | +71.04% |
| 👖 Jeans (mid-range brand) | $41.45 | $50.38 (47 EUR) | +21.54% |
| 👟 Running shoes (brand) | $67.82 | $82.44 (76 EUR) | +21.56% |
| 💻 Coworking hot desk, month | $115 | $196 (181 EUR) | +71.03% |
Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the interactive tool.
Related
Frequently asked questions
- How much more expensive is Netherlands than China?
- A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,837 in Netherlands versus $1,011 in China — 81.63% more. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- What does a beer cost in Netherlands?
- A domestic draught pint is roughly $4.71 in Netherlands (≈ 4.35 EUR), versus about $2.76 in China.
- How much is rent in Netherlands compared to China?
- A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,287/month in Netherlands versus $650/month in China (+97.98%). 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.