Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Moldova

Balti vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Balti is 26.1% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 91.3% more in Balti
Groceries: pay 24.4% less in Balti
Transportation: pay 7.6% more in Balti
Housing: pay 38.0% less in Balti
Childcare: pay 87.7% less in Balti
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.0% less in Balti
Clothing: pay 28.2% less in Balti

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

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Balti vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 91.3% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Balti
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$8.41 MDL151.18	+88.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$10.52 MDL188.98	+101.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.08 MDL19.49	+80.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.67 MDL12.09	+82.0%
Average			+91.3%

Shanghai vs. Balti - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.4% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Balti
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.48 MDL8.57	-75.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.37 MDL60.47	-60.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.67 MDL83.94	-32.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.22 MDL39.91	+30.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.12 MDL38.08	+43.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.46 MDL8.23	-53.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.02 MDL18.29	+32.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.84 MDL15.06	-7.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.05 MDL18.95	+37.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.34 MDL6.03	-6.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.23 MDL4.11	-47.1%
Average			-24.4%

Shanghai vs. Balti - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.6% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Balti
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$6.01 MDL107.94	+21.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$16.83 MDL302.36	-43.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$33,658.64 MDL605K	+73.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$4.82 MDL86.68	-14.9%
Average			+7.6%

Shanghai vs. Balti - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.0% less for housing

	Shanghai	Balti
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$11.22 MDL201.58	+6.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$392.43 MDL7,050.49	-62.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$280.49 MDL5,039.39	-52.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$171.59 MDL3,082.92	+289.5%
Average			-38.0%

Shanghai vs. Balti - Cost of housing

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pay 87.7% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Balti
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$112.20 MDL2,015.76	-92.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$5,236.33 MDL94,078.34	-81.1%
Average			-87.7%

Shanghai vs. Balti - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Balti
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.12 MDL20.16	-6.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$1.74 MDL31.24	-48.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.37 MDL60.47	-9.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$36.46 MDL655.12	-44.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$7.57 MDL136.06	-15.4%
Average			-29.0%

Shanghai vs. Balti - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.2% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Balti
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$44.88 MDL806.30	-17.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$33.66 MDL604.73	-9.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$56.10 MDL1,007.88	-25.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$50.49 MDL907.09	-52.2%
Average			-28.2%

Shanghai vs. Balti - 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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