Cost of living comparison

Portugal

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Algarve Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 28.6% cheaper than Algarve.

Restaurants: pay 65.4% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 17.4% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 42.2% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 30.4% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 96.2% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.4% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 10.2% less in Shanghai

Expenses including restaurants, transportation, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Shanghai. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Shanghai.

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Shanghai vs. Algarve Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Algarve, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 65.4% less for restaurants

	Algarve	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.80 €14.95	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-73.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.52 €8.47	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-45.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.94 €1.73	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-69.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 €1.33	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-75.2%
Average			-65.4%

Algarve vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.4% less for groceries

	Algarve	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.39 €1.24	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+41.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.43 €5.72	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+33.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.34 €3.87	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+58.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.94 €3.51	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-56.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.55 €3.16	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-58.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.01 €0.90	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-1.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 €0.53	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+29.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 €0.71	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+13.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 €0.90	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-23.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.82 €0.73	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-56.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.91 €0.81	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-52.7%
Average			-17.4%

Algarve vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.2% less for transportation

	Algarve	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.99 €7.11	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-37.8%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.59
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,640.22 €29,941.00	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-42.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.52 €11.14	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-54.7%
Average			-42.2%

Algarve vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.4% less for housing

	Algarve	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.72 €29.12	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-67.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,063.00 €946.11	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	-2.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$857.72 €763.40	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	-31.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.60 €102.88	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-61.9%
Average			-30.4%

Algarve vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 96.2% more for childcare

	Algarve	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$663.19 €590.27	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+113.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,323.95 €13,638.87	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+80.7%
Average			+96.2%

Algarve vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Algarve	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.36 €2.99	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-64.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.03 €2.69	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+10.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.72 €5.98	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-44.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.95 €32.89	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+77.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.66 €8.60	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-7.3%
Average			-11.4%

Algarve vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.2% less for clothing

	Algarve	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$102.78 €91.47	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-47.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.72 €40.69	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-18.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.38 €69.76	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-3.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$67.18 €59.80	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+57.3%
Average			-10.2%

Algarve vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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