Cost of living comparison

Brazil

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Porto Alegre Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 14.3% more expensive than Porto Alegre.

Restaurants: pay 42.3% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 3.6% more in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 23.3% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 69.4% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 72.1% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.3% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 9.1% less in Shanghai

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

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

Shanghai vs. Porto Alegre Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of Porto Alegre, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.3% less for restaurants

	Porto Alegre	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.96 R$40.32	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-43.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 R$35.28	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-25.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.38 R$6.96	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-56.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 R$5.44	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-65.6%
Average			-42.3%

Porto Alegre vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.6% more for groceries

	Porto Alegre	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.69 R$8.53	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+17.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.08 R$25.73	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+69.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.83 R$19.40	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+79.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 R$12.44	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-30.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 R$11.03	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-32.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 R$5.53	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-9.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.66 R$3.36	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+16.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.63 R$3.17	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+44.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 R$3.73	$0.77 CN¥5.15	+4.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 R$2.83	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-35.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.50 R$2.53	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-13.3%
Average			+3.6%

Porto Alegre vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.3% less for transportation

	Porto Alegre	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.94 R$25.01	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+0.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$59.73 R$302.37	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-50.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,669.59 R$120K	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-18.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.90 R$40.01	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-28.3%
Average			-23.3%

Porto Alegre vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 69.4% more for housing

	Porto Alegre	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.90 R$110.86	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-51.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$481.30 R$2,436.56	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+115.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$279.01 R$1,412.50	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+111.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.38 R$295.53	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-24.5%
Average			+69.4%

Porto Alegre vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 72.1% more for childcare

	Porto Alegre	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$557.40 R$2,821.85	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+153.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,711.01 R$120K	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+16.8%
Average			+72.1%

Porto Alegre vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Porto Alegre	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.39 R$12.09	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-50.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.55 R$12.90	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+31.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.48 R$12.58	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+50.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.37 R$148.70	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+123.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.27 R$36.79	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+23.2%
Average			+23.3%

Porto Alegre vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.1% less for clothing

	Porto Alegre	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.34 R$254.82	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+8.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$58.19 R$294.60	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-36.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.92 R$515.98	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-25.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$79.07 R$400.27	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+33.7%
Average			-9.1%

Porto Alegre 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: Porto Alegre vs. Shanghai

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Shanghai?

More cost comparisons

Porto Alegre vs.

Athens

Porto Alegre vs.

Toronto

Porto Alegre vs.

Vienna

Porto Alegre vs.

Warsaw

Porto Alegre vs.

New York City

Porto Alegre vs.

Sydney

Porto Alegre vs.

Bangkok

Porto Alegre vs.

Dublin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Brazil vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Brazil 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 Porto Alegre

Add prices for Shanghai

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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