Cost of living comparison

Botswana

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 45.3% more expensive than Gaborone.

Restaurants: pay 37.2% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 10.9% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 13.9% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 11.1 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.6% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 37.4% more in Shanghai

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

Planning a move to China? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Shanghai vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 37.2% less for restaurants

	Gaborone	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.85 BWP148.87	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-58.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.79 BWP79.40	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-9.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 BWP9.92	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-17.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 BWP5.71	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-11.1%
Average			-37.2%

Gaborone vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.9% more for groceries

	Gaborone	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 BWP12.02	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+125.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.16 BWP43.42	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+171.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.47 BWP75.12	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+25.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 BWP33.83	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-31.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.11 BWP28.88	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-29.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 BWP10.31	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+32.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP8.75	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+20.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 BWP12.38	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+0.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 BWP10.15	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+4.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP7.97	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-38.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 BWP7.25	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-18.1%
Average			+10.9%

Gaborone vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.9% less for transportation

	Gaborone	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 BWP70.71	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-3.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.66 BWP406.91	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+0.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,891.73 BWP273K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-2.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.87 BWP286.32	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-72.8%
Average			-13.9%

Gaborone vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Gaborone	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.10 BWP577.61	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-74.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+191.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+166.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.63 BWP626.12	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-3.5%
Average			+110.4%

Gaborone vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.1 times more for childcare

	Gaborone	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+1011.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+1007.4%
Average			+1009.7%

Gaborone vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Gaborone	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.99 BWP27.29	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-40.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.32 BWP31.83	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+44.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.62 BWP49.62	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+3.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.58 BWP460.78	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+95.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.15 BWP84.36	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+45.6%
Average			+26.6%

Gaborone vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.4% more for clothing

	Gaborone	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.53 BWP652.19	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+14.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.75 BWP229.75	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+121.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 BWP992.46	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+4.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+34.9%
Average			+37.4%

Gaborone vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Gaborone vs. Shanghai

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Shanghai?

More cost comparisons

Gaborone vs.

Toronto

Gaborone vs.

London

Gaborone vs.

Rome

Gaborone vs.

Cairo

Gaborone vs.

Moscow

Gaborone vs.

Sydney

Gaborone vs.

Paris

Gaborone vs.

Bangkok

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Botswana vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Botswana and China.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Gaborone

Add prices for Shanghai

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Shanghai or Gaborone. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.