Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

France

Brest vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Brest is 15.8% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.2 times more in Brest
Groceries: pay 44.5% more in Brest
Transportation: pay 81.4% more in Brest
Housing: pay 22.9% less in Brest
Childcare: pay 74.4% less in Brest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 49.1% more in Brest
Clothing: pay 7.9% less in Brest

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

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Brest vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.2 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Brest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$15.68 €13.95	+250.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$11.20 €9.97	+114.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$2.95 €2.62	+391.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$2.10 €1.87	+467.6%
Average			+220.3%

Shanghai vs. Brest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.5% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Brest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.57 €1.40	-20.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$9.33 €8.31	+8.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.27 €3.80	-38.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.56 €3.17	+110.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.57 €4.07	+209.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.35 €1.21	+36.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.89 €0.79	+15.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.20 €1.07	+33.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.30 €1.16	+69.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.77 €0.68	+114.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.95 €0.84	+118.8%
Average			+44.5%

Shanghai vs. Brest - Cost of groceries

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pay 81.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Brest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$7.80 €6.94	+57.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$40.31 €35.88	+35.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$36,273.83 €32,285.02	+87.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$32.36 €28.80	+471.0%
Average			+81.4%

Shanghai vs. Brest - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.9% less for housing

	Shanghai	Brest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$30.77 €27.39	+191.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$513.21 €456.78	-50.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$388.17 €345.49	-34.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$107.71 €95.87	+144.5%
Average			-22.9%

Shanghai vs. Brest - Cost of housing

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pay 74.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Brest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$223.95 €199.32	-84.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$11,439.22 €10,181.32	-58.7%
Average			-74.4%

Shanghai vs. Brest - Cost of childcare

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pay 49.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Brest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$6.66 €5.93	+458.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.94 €2.62	-12.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$13.44 €11.96	+260.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$35.55 €31.64	-45.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$13.72 €12.21	+53.3%
Average			+49.1%

Shanghai vs. Brest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.9% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Brest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$69.05 €61.46	+27.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$30.23 €26.91	-18.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$78.38 €69.76	+3.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$70.92 €63.12	-32.9%
Average			-7.9%

Shanghai vs. Brest - 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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