Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Brasov Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 2.7% cheaper than Brasov.

Restaurants: pay 56.8% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 0.4% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 16.5% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 10.0% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 3.6 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.1% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 7.2% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Brasov Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.8% less for restaurants

	Brasov	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.98 RON51.94	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-59.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.32 RON34.63	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-28.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.40 RON11.35	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-75.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.19 RON10.35	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-83.1%
Average			-56.8%

Brasov vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.4% more for groceries

	Brasov	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.39 RON6.60	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+41.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.42 RON20.89	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+94.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.90 RON27.90	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+16.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.50 RON16.55	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-51.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.09 RON14.62	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-52.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.68 RON3.20	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+47.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 RON3.29	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+10.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 RON3.46	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+23.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.20 RON5.70	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-36.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 RON1.69	$0.36 CN¥2.40
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 RON1.88	$0.43 CN¥2.90	+9.2%
Average			+0.4%

Brasov vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.5% less for transportation

	Brasov	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.11 RON33.65	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-30.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.00 RON108.83	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+29.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,531.98 RON135K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-32.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.83 RON27.60	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-2.9%
Average			-16.5%

Brasov vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.0% more for housing

	Brasov	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$9.09 RON42.98	$10.55 CN¥70.59	+16.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$686.17 RON3,246.00	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+51.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$467.35 RON2,210.83	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+26.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$136.26 RON644.60	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-67.7%
Average			+10.0%

Brasov vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 3.6 times more for childcare

	Brasov	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$443.91 RON2,099.96	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+218.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,921.71 RON32,743.84	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+300.0%
Average			+256.9%

Brasov vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Brasov	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.14 RON14.84	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-62.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.62 RON17.11	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-7.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.06 RON28.69	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-38.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.53 RON272.17	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+14.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.41 RON44.52	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-4.9%
Average			-21.1%

Brasov vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.2% more for clothing

	Brasov	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.65 RON244.35	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+5.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.33 RON167.12	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+5.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.74 RON353.55	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+1.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.40 RON422.92	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+18.2%
Average			+7.2%

Brasov 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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