Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Lebanon

Beirut vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Beirut is 32.8% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Beirut
Groceries: pay 16.8% more in Beirut
Transportation: pay 84.3% more in Beirut
Housing: pay 18.2% more in Beirut
Childcare: pay 56.9% less in Beirut
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.9% more in Beirut
Clothing: pay 36.3% more in Beirut

The cost of restaurants, transportation, entertainment and sports, clothing, housing, and groceries in Beirut are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, restaurants and transportation are significantly more expensive in Beirut.

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Beirut vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Beirut
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$12.00 LBP1M	+168.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$10.00 LBP896K	+91.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.33 LBP209K	+288.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.87 LBP78,113	+135.8%
Average			+144.2%

Shanghai vs. Beirut - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.8% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Beirut
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.88 LBP78,624	-55.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.54 LBP496K	-35.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.42 LBP664K	+7.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.57 LBP320K	+110.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.81 LBP431K	+225.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.39 LBP124K	+39.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.76 LBP68,245	-1.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.75 LBP66,945	-17.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.68 LBP60,933	-11.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.56 LBP50,168	+56.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.71 LBP63,835	+64.5%
Average			+16.8%

Shanghai vs. Beirut - Cost of groceries

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pay 84.3% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Beirut
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$4.04 LBP362K	-18.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$77.50 LBP7M	+159.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$53,500.00 LBP5B	+176.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$23.00 LBP2M	+305.8%
Average			+84.3%

Shanghai vs. Beirut - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.2% more for housing

	Shanghai	Beirut
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$37.98 LBP3M	+260.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$943.80 LBP85M	-9.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$496.60 LBP44M	-15.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$177.50 LBP16M	+302.9%
Average			+18.2%

Shanghai vs. Beirut - Cost of housing

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pay 56.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Beirut
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$681.75 LBP61M	-51.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$10,643.75 LBP953M	-61.6%
Average			-56.9%

Shanghai vs. Beirut - Cost of childcare

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pay 51.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Beirut
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$5.00 LBP448K	+319.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.54 LBP407K	+35.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.00 LBP269K	-19.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$85.00 LBP8M	+29.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$10.00 LBP896K	+11.7%
Average			+51.9%

Shanghai vs. Beirut - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.3% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Beirut
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$67.62 LBP6M	+24.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$49.29 LBP4M	+32.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$138.89 LBP12M	+84.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$120.00 LBP11M	+13.5%
Average			+36.3%

Shanghai vs. Beirut - 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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