Cost of living comparison

Brunei

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 19.0% more expensive than Bandar Seri Begawan.

Restaurants: pay 7.1% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 21.8% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 2.5 times more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 14.2% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 4.3 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.6% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 25.7% less in Shanghai

The cost of childcare, transportation, and housing in Shanghai are more expensive than in Bandar Seri Begawan. Expenses including clothing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Shanghai. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in Shanghai.

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Shanghai vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Bandar Seri Begawan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.1% less for restaurants

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.91 BND5.00	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+14.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 BND7.91	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-15.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 BND1.18	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-35.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 BND0.66	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-28.3%
Average			-7.1%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.8% less for groceries

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.72 BND2.20	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+15.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.69 BND6.01	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+83.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.05 BND9.03	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-2.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.04 BND2.62	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-16.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.04 BND2.61	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-27.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 BND1.82	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-29.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 BND1.27	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-22.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 BND1.70	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-32.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 BND1.48	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-33.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 BND0.99	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-53.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 BND1.19	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-53.4%
Average			-21.8%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.5 times more for transportation

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.55 BND1.99	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+219.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$0.78 BND1.00	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+3719.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,965.55 BND55,045.14	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-54.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.47 BND39.03	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-81.4%
Average			+148.5%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.2% more for housing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.10 BND83.40	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-83.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$720.60 BND923.19	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+43.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$473.37 BND606.46	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+24.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.90 BND60.08	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-6.1%
Average			+14.2%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 4.3 times more for childcare

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.79 BND277.73	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+552.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,724.87 BND12,458.98	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+184.7%
Average			+330.8%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 BND2.50	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-38.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.91 BND5.00	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-14.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$15.63 BND20.02	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-76.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.57 BND58.38	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+44.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.47 BND7.00	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+63.7%
Average			-5.6%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.7% less for clothing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$76.16 BND97.58	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-28.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$93.73 BND120.08	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-60.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.14 BND130.86	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-26.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.26 BND92.58	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+46.3%
Average			-25.7%

Bandar Seri Begawan 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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