Shanghai is genuinely cheaper than back home for glasses, a tailored suit, dentistry, massages and phone repair, and more expensive for anything imported.
Shanghai is genuinely cheaper than back home for a specific, useful list: glasses, a tailored suit, a dental cleaning, a massage, a manicure, phone repair, and almost anything that ships on Taobao or rides the high-speed train. A full pair of glasses runs 200 to 600 RMB (USD 30 to 90) against a few hundred dollars at home. It is not cheaper for imported wine, cheese, a car or a large flat. The move is simple: stock up on the first list long before you leave.
Good to know
- Good for: anyone about to leave Shanghai, or anyone who still thinks they have to fly home for a clean pair of glasses.
- Biggest wins: eyewear, bespoke tailoring, dentistry, massage and tech repair, often a third to a fifth of the price back home.
- The catch: anything imported (wine, cheese, cars, Western brands) costs more here, not less. Spend local, not global.
Glasses and contacts: the classic win
Eyewear is the thing every leaving expat buys in bulk, because Shanghai does a full pair of glasses, frames plus lenses, for about 200 to 600 RMB (USD 30 to 90), and the eye exam is often free or around 50 RMB (USD 7). The same prescription at a Western optician routinely runs a few hundred dollars. Bring your prescription, pick frames, and most shops cut the lenses the same day. Our full walk-through of getting glasses and an eye exam in Shanghai covers where to go and what to pay. Buy two pairs. You will thank yourself.
A tailored suit for the price of off-the-rack
A made-to-measure wool suit in Shanghai runs about 1,500 to 4,000 RMB (USD 224 to 597), which is what a decent off-the-rack suit costs in London or New York, and this one is cut to you. Shirts land around 150 to 300 RMB (USD 22 to 45) each. The fabric markets are where it happens, and the trick is choosing cloth and a tailor carefully rather than chasing the lowest quote. We lay out the honest version in our guide to custom suits at the fabric market. A wedding, a new job or a leaving gift to yourself is the moment to do it.
Dentistry and a cleaning that does not hurt your wallet
A dental cleaning in Shanghai runs about 200 to 500 RMB (USD 30 to 75) at a good local clinic, against USD 150 to 300 at home, and fillings and crowns follow the same pattern. International clinics charge far more and exist mainly for the English and the insurance paperwork. If you are comfortable at a reputable local or mid-tier clinic, the saving is real. Our guide to finding an English-speaking dentist sorts the clinics by price and language. Get the cleaning before you fly out for the holidays.
Massage, manicures and being looked after
Being looked after is absurdly affordable here. A proper 60 to 90 minute massage runs about 150 to 400 RMB (USD 22 to 60), a fraction of the USD 80 to 150 you would pay in the West, and a manicure runs 100 to 250 RMB (USD 15 to 37). This is the category that quietly changes your week, because at these prices a massage stops being a treat and becomes a Tuesday. See our guides to massage in Shanghai and getting your nails done for where to book.
Phone repair, tech and anything on Taobao
Tech is where Shanghai simply wins. A cracked phone screen runs about 200 to 600 RMB (USD 30 to 90) replaced while you wait, against the eye-watering quotes at home, and the electronics markets will repair a laptop most Western shops would tell you to bin. Everything else arrives from Taobao for a few yuan in shipping, and the secondhand app is cheaper still, which we cover in how to use Xianyu. Fix it, do not replace it, and buy the small stuff online.
Getting around: the train beats the plane
High-speed rail is one of the clearest value wins in China. Shanghai to Hangzhou is about 73 RMB (USD 11) and under an hour, and even Shanghai to Beijing in second class is around 550 RMB (USD 82) for a journey that would cost far more and take longer to fly once you count the airport. For longer hauls, the overnight option can beat flying outright, as we found on the Shanghai to Hong Kong sleeper. Take the train.
What is not cheaper (the honest other side)
Not everything here is a bargain, and pretending otherwise is how newcomers blow a budget. Imported wine, cheese, Western groceries, branded cosmetics and anything with a customs line on it cost more in Shanghai than at home, sometimes much more, which is why Western groceries deserve their own strategy. A car is expensive once you add the licence plate, and a large central flat is not cheap either. The rule holds: Shanghai is cheap for services and local goods, and dear for anything shipped in. For the full picture, our cost of living guide does the maths.
What costs what, here versus home
Rough ballparks, in October 2026, at about 6.7 RMB to the US dollar. Home prices are a Western benchmark and swing by country, so treat them as a guide, not a quote.
Which one is for you 哪个适合你
If you are leaving Shanghai soon, book the dentist, buy two pairs of glasses and order a tailored suit while you still can, because none of it is this cheap anywhere you are going. If you are staying, make the massage a habit and repair rather than replace. And if you are on a tight budget, the win is simply this: spend on local services and Taobao, and stop buying imported versions of things China already makes well.
Are glasses really cheaper in Shanghai?
Yes. A full pair with frames and lenses runs about 200 to 600 RMB (USD 30 to 90) in Shanghai, against a few hundred dollars at a Western optician, and many shops cut the lenses the same day. Bring your prescription and buy a spare pair while you are at it.
How much does a tailored suit cost in Shanghai?
A made-to-measure wool suit runs about 1,500 to 4,000 RMB (USD 224 to 597) at the fabric markets, roughly what an off-the-rack suit costs back home but cut to your measurements. Shirts are around 150 to 300 RMB (USD 22 to 45). Choose the cloth and tailor carefully rather than the cheapest quote.
Is dental work cheaper in Shanghai than abroad?
At a good local clinic, yes. A cleaning runs about 200 to 500 RMB (USD 30 to 75) and fillings follow the same pattern, well below Western prices. International clinics charge much more, mostly for the English service and insurance billing.
What is more expensive in Shanghai than back home?
Anything imported: wine, cheese, Western groceries, branded cosmetics, cars once you add the plate, and large central apartments. Shanghai is cheap for local services and goods and dear for anything shipped in, so spend local and skip the imported versions.
As Laozi wrote in the Dao De Jing, 知足者富, he who knows he has enough is already rich, which in Shanghai means buying what is genuinely good value and leaving the imported markup on the shelf.
Words, maps and research by the Choice Shanghai team. Please credit us and tag our 公众号 if you share.
