Cost of living comparison

Chile

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Santiago Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 3.3% more expensive than Santiago.

Restaurants: pay 54.0% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 10.1% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 12.3% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 29.4% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.3% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 20.1% more in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Santiago Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.0% less for restaurants

	Santiago	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.23 CLF0.2600	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-56.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.70 CLF0.2200	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-40.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.71 CLF0.0400	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-64.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 CLF0.0300	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-70.4%
Average			-54.0%

Santiago vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.1% less for groceries

	Santiago	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.81 CLF0.0500	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+8.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.64 CLF0.1400	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+52.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.81 CLF0.1200	$6.88 CN¥46.02	+43.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.18 CLF0.1000	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-59.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.11 CLF0.0800	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-52.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 CLF0.0200	$0.99 CN¥6.65	+10.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 CLF0.0200	$0.77 CN¥5.16	+10.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.74 CLF0.0200	$0.90 CN¥6.05	+22.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 CLF0.0200	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-1.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 CLF0.0100	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-27.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 CLF0.0200	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-36.0%
Average			-10.1%

Santiago vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.3% less for transportation

	Santiago	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 CLF0.1400	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-13.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.93 CLF1.0200	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-27.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,743.12 CLF443.5100	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	+9.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.37 CLF0.1800	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-23.1%
Average			-12.3%

Santiago vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.4% more for housing

	Santiago	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.07 CLF0.4800	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-44.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$552.81 CLF13.8200	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+87.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$376.90 CLF9.4200	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+56.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.86 CLF2.8500	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-61.3%
Average			+29.4%

Santiago vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Santiago	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$432.52 CLF10.8100	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+226.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,959.69 CLF273.9500	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+152.6%
Average			+187.3%

Santiago vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Santiago	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 CLF0.1000	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-70.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.25 CLF0.0800	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+3.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.22 CLF0.1300	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-28.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 CLF0.8500	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+93.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.52 CLF0.1900	$8.95 CN¥59.88	+19.0%
Average			-6.3%

Santiago vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.1% more for clothing

	Santiago	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.25 CLF1.2600	$54.37 CN¥363.79	+8.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.71 CLF0.7200	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+29.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.29 CLF1.6600	$75.49 CN¥505.08	+13.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$80.84 CLF2.0200	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+30.8%
Average			+20.1%

Santiago 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Santiago is about 3.1 times smaller than Shanghai.

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