Cost of living comparison

Uruguay

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Montevideo Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 29.1% cheaper than Montevideo.

Restaurants: pay 70.6% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 37.4% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 39.3% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 8.9% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.0% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 35.7% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Montevideo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 70.6% less for restaurants

	Montevideo	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00 UYU604.72	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-70.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.46 UYU583.02	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-63.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 UYU108.81	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-77.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05 UYU82.66	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-82.0%
Average			-70.6%

Montevideo vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.4% less for groceries

	Montevideo	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.84 UYU114.69	$1.98 CN¥13.22	-30.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.03 UYU283.55	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+22.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.10 UYU205.48	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+34.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.57 UYU184.15	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-62.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.46 UYU220.10	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-72.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 UYU51.67	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-22.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 UYU51.03	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-39.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 UYU32.15	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+13.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 UYU58.00	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-46.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 UYU37.22	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-61.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.96 UYU38.73	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-54.9%
Average			-37.4%

Montevideo vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.3% less for transportation

	Montevideo	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.25 UYU332.50	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-39.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.80 UYU3,015.63	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-60.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,990.00 UYU1M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-28.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.27 UYU212.50	$5.67 CN¥37.92	+7.5%
Average			-39.3%

Montevideo vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.9% less for housing

	Montevideo	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$44.58 UYU1,797.10	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-76.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$706.61 UYU28,486.90	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+46.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$583.28 UYU23,514.79	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+0.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.76 UYU5,836.03	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-69.6%
Average			-8.9%

Montevideo vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Montevideo	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$626.83 UYU25,270.58	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+125.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,986.11 UYU443K	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+152.0%
Average			+138.4%

Montevideo vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Montevideo	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.92 UYU198.53	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-75.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.59 UYU184.84	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-26.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.49 UYU221.15	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-32.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.39 UYU2,192.54	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+20.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.22 UYU492.55	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-26.8%
Average			-34.0%

Montevideo vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 35.7% less for clothing

	Montevideo	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$102.85 UYU4,146.32	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-47.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.61 UYU2,282.30	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-34.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$124.46 UYU5,017.67	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-39.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$130.21 UYU5,249.43	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-18.8%
Average			-35.7%

Montevideo 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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