Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Neuchatel Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 57.6% cheaper than Neuchatel.

Restaurants: pay 80.9% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 51.6% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 58.6% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 56.1% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 22.5% less in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.5% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 41.3% less in Shanghai

Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Shanghai.

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Shanghai vs. Neuchatel Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 80.9% less for restaurants

	Neuchatel	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.00 CHF22.24	$4.47 CN¥29.79	-83.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.00 CHF14.83	$5.22 CN¥34.75	-71.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.00 CHF3.30	$0.60 CN¥3.99	-85.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.40 CHF2.80	$0.37 CN¥2.46	-89.1%
Average			-80.9%

Neuchatel vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.6% less for groceries

	Neuchatel	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$3.05 CHF2.51	$1.98 CN¥13.15	-35.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.87 CHF10.60	$8.60 CN¥57.24	-33.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 CHF6.41	$6.88 CN¥45.79	-11.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.03 CHF5.80	$1.70 CN¥11.30	-75.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.31 CHF10.15	$1.48 CN¥9.84	-88.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.45 CHF1.19	$0.99 CN¥6.62	-31.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 CHF0.82	$0.77 CN¥5.13	-22.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.31 CHF1.08	$0.90 CN¥6.02	-30.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.10 CHF1.73	$0.77 CN¥5.12	-63.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CHF0.64	$0.36 CN¥2.38	-53.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.88 CHF0.73	$0.43 CN¥2.88	-51.0%
Average			-51.6%

Neuchatel vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.6% less for transportation

	Neuchatel	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.59 CHF7.08	$4.96 CN¥33.05	-42.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$91.20 CHF75.13	$29.83 CN¥198.59	-67.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$39,358.98 CHF32,425.54	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-50.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$41.40 CHF34.11	$5.67 CN¥37.73	-86.3%
Average			-58.6%

Neuchatel vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 56.1% less for housing

	Neuchatel	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.00 CHF34.60	$10.55 CN¥70.24	-74.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,679.96 CHF1,384.02	$1,036.96 CN¥6,903.44	-38.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.96 CHF1,153.35	$588.71 CN¥3,919.27	-57.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$183.52 CHF151.20	$44.06 CN¥293.30	-76.0%
Average			-56.1%

Neuchatel vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 22.5% less for childcare

	Neuchatel	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,499.94 CHF2,059.55	$1,413.50 CN¥9,410.21	-43.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$26,079.32 CHF21,485.21	$27,686.22 CN¥184K	+6.2%
Average			-22.5%

Neuchatel vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Neuchatel	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.24 CHF7.61	$1.19 CN¥7.94	-87.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.00 CHF4.94	$3.35 CN¥22.30	-44.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.80 CHF8.90	$3.73 CN¥24.82	-65.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$98.40 CHF81.06	$65.69 CN¥437.32	-33.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$21.60 CHF17.79	$8.95 CN¥59.58	-58.6%
Average			-61.5%

Neuchatel vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.3% less for clothing

	Neuchatel	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$126.00 CHF103.80	$54.37 CN¥361.97	-56.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.40 CHF41.52	$37.09 CN¥246.96	-26.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$148.00 CHF121.93	$75.49 CN¥502.56	-49.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$144.00 CHF118.63	$105.70 CN¥703.72	-26.6%
Average			-41.3%

Neuchatel 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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