Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cartagena vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Cartagena is 26.4% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants
pay 95.6% more in Cartagena
Groceries
pay 75.8% more in Cartagena
Transportation
pay 48.4% more in Cartagena
Housing
pay 3.3% more in Cartagena
Childcare
pay 70.0% less in Cartagena
Entertainment and Sports
pay 41.0% more in Cartagena

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

Cartagena vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

pay 95.6% more for restaurants

 
Shanghai
Cartagena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.47
CN¥29.87
$5.71
COP18,489.52
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.22
CN¥34.85
$10.21
COP33,031.91
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.60
CN¥4.00
$2.51
COP8,138.85

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pay 75.8% more for groceries

 
Shanghai
Cartagena
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
CN¥13.19
$2.78
COP8,994.90
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.60
CN¥57.39
$6.61
COP21,387.88
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
CN¥45.91
$7.05
COP22,811.88

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pay 48.4% more for transportation

 
Shanghai
Cartagena
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.96
CN¥33.13
$4.91
COP15,878.35
Monthly public transit pass $29.83
CN¥199.12
$57.81
COP187K
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,374.76
CN¥129K
$23,157.99
COP75M

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pay 3.3% more for housing

 
Shanghai
Cartagena
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.55
CN¥70.42
??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,036.96
CN¥6,921.79
$1,028.35
COP3M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $588.71
CN¥3,929.69
$574.35
COP2M

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pay 70.0% less for childcare

 
Shanghai
Cartagena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,413.50
CN¥9,435.22
$617.63
COP2M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,686.22
CN¥185K
$5,713.07
COP18M

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pay 41.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Shanghai
Cartagena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.19
CN¥7.96
$3.21
COP10,394.11
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.35
CN¥22.36
$4.32
COP13,992.07
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.73
CN¥24.89
??

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Shanghai
Cartagena
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.37
CN¥362.93
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.09
CN¥247.61
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$75.49
CN¥503.90
??

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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