Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Canada

Calgary vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Calgary is 63.5% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Calgary
Groceries: pay 78.4% more in Calgary
Transportation: pay 54.4% more in Calgary
Housing: pay 67.1% more in Calgary
Childcare: pay 43.5% less in Calgary
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.6% more in Calgary
Clothing: pay 9.1% more in Calgary

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

Planning a move to Canada? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Calgary vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Calgary
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$17.53 CA$24.82	+291.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$10.52 CA$14.89	+101.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.95 CA$2.76	+225.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.89 CA$2.68	+411.2%
Average			+213.0%

Shanghai vs. Calgary - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 78.4% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Calgary
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$2.70 CA$3.82	+36.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$5.64 CA$7.98	-34.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$7.26 CA$10.27	+5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.69 CA$5.23	+117.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$5.11 CA$7.24	+245.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$2.14 CA$3.02	+114.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.64 CA$0.91	-16.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.89 CA$2.68	+109.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.75 CA$2.48	+128.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.23 CA$1.74	+242.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.21 CA$1.72	+180.2%
Average			+78.4%

Shanghai vs. Calgary - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Calgary
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$4.49 CA$6.36	-9.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$88.37 CA$125.11	+196.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$27,760.48 CA$39,301.90	+43.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$13.93 CA$19.72	+145.8%
Average			+54.4%

Shanghai vs. Calgary - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 67.1% more for housing

	Shanghai	Calgary
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$50.56 CA$71.59	+379.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$1,217.89 CA$1,724.23	+17.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$1,008.23 CA$1,427.40	+71.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$124.11 CA$175.71	+181.7%
Average			+67.1%

Shanghai vs. Calgary - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Calgary
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$793.84 CA$1,123.88	-43.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$15,746.76 CA$22,293.47	-43.1%
Average			-43.5%

Shanghai vs. Calgary - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 63.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Calgary
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$4.91 CA$6.95	+311.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$3.72 CA$5.27	+11.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$14.03 CA$19.86	+276.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$52.31 CA$74.06	-20.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$14.03 CA$19.86	+56.7%
Average			+63.6%

Shanghai vs. Calgary - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Calgary
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$57.61 CA$81.56	+5.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$39.55 CA$55.99	+6.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$90.77 CA$128.50	+20.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$110.17 CA$155.98	+4.2%
Average			+9.1%

Shanghai vs. Calgary - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Shanghai vs. Calgary

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Calgary?

Size Comparison · See true size

Shanghai is about 8 times bigger than Calgary.

More cost comparisons

Shanghai vs.

Beijing

Shanghai vs.

Reykjavik

Shanghai vs.

Quito

Shanghai vs.

New York City

Shanghai vs.

Bangkok

Shanghai vs.

Warsaw

Shanghai vs.

Toronto

Shanghai vs.

Paris

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. Canada. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and Canada.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Shanghai

Add prices for Calgary

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Calgary or Shanghai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.