Cost of living comparison

Malta

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. San Pawl Il-bahar Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 23.3% cheaper than San Pawl Il-bahar.

Restaurants: pay 71.1% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 22.6% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 40.6% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 17.9% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.1% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 31.5% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. San Pawl Il-bahar Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Shanghai instead of San Pawl Il-bahar, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 71.1% less for restaurants

	San Pawl Il-bahar	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.60 €17.58	$4.47 CN¥29.87	-77.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.20 €10.05	$5.22 CN¥34.85	-53.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 €2.21	$0.60 CN¥4.00	-75.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.02 €1.81	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-81.6%
Average			-71.1%

San Pawl Il-bahar vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.6% less for groceries

	San Pawl Il-bahar	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 €1.07	$1.98 CN¥13.19	+65.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.13 €3.70	$8.60 CN¥57.39	+108.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.14 €4.61	$6.88 CN¥45.91	+33.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.55 €3.19	$1.70 CN¥11.33	-52.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.56 €3.19	$1.48 CN¥9.87	-58.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 €1.23	$0.99 CN¥6.63	-27.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 €0.84	$0.77 CN¥5.14	-18.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 €1.18	$0.90 CN¥6.03	-31.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 €1.14	$0.77 CN¥5.14	-39.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 €0.64	$0.36 CN¥2.39	-49.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 €0.74	$0.43 CN¥2.89	-47.5%
Average			-22.6%

San Pawl Il-bahar vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.6% less for transportation

	San Pawl Il-bahar	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.68 €5.10	$4.96 CN¥33.13	-12.6%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$29.83 CN¥199.12
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,847.06 €33,954.49	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-48.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.51 €21.10	$5.67 CN¥37.83	-75.9%
Average			-40.6%

San Pawl Il-bahar vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.9% less for housing

	San Pawl Il-bahar	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$40.31 €36.16	$10.55 CN¥70.42	-73.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$979.77 €879.00	$1,036.96 CN¥6,921.79	+5.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$858.46 €770.17	$588.71 CN¥3,929.69	-31.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.53 €39.95	$44.06 CN¥294.08	-1.1%
Average			-17.9%

San Pawl Il-bahar vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	San Pawl Il-bahar	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$367.05 €329.30	$1,413.50 CN¥9,435.22	+285.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,132.13 €9,987.19	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+148.7%
Average			+209.5%

San Pawl Il-bahar vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.1% less for entertainment and sports

	San Pawl Il-bahar	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.48 €4.02	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-73.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.58 €2.31	$3.35 CN¥22.36	+30.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.33 €5.68	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-41.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.39 €45.21	$65.69 CN¥438.48	+30.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.94 €8.92	$8.95 CN¥59.74	-9.9%
Average			-20.1%

San Pawl Il-bahar vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.5% more for clothing

	San Pawl Il-bahar	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$22.39 €20.09	$54.37 CN¥362.93	+142.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.22 €29.80	$37.09 CN¥247.61	+11.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.04 €87.06	$75.49 CN¥503.90	-22.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$74.65 €66.97	$105.70 CN¥705.59	+41.6%
Average			+31.5%

San Pawl Il-bahar 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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