Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Africa

Durban vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Durban is 10.8% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 56.3% more in Durban
Groceries: pay 0.8% less in Durban
Transportation: pay 17.5% more in Durban
Housing: pay 24.2% less in Durban
Childcare: pay 75.5% less in Durban
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.5% less in Durban
Clothing: pay 4.6% less in Durban

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

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Durban vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.3% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Durban
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$7.81 ZAR128.84	+74.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$6.01 ZAR99.11	+15.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.10 ZAR18.20	+84.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.87 ZAR14.37	+135.5%
Average			+56.3%

Shanghai vs. Durban - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.8% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Durban
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.96 ZAR15.80	-51.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.12 ZAR67.89	-52.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.55 ZAR75.03	-33.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.37 ZAR39.03	+39.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.35 ZAR38.81	+59.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.88 ZAR14.47	-11.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.86 ZAR14.26	+12.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.87 ZAR14.39	-3.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.76 ZAR12.60	-0.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.69 ZAR11.31	+91.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.64 ZAR10.58	+48.1%
Average			-0.8%

Shanghai vs. Durban - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Durban
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.75 ZAR94.88	+15.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$21.63 ZAR356.79	-27.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	+82.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$6.22 ZAR102.64	+9.8%
Average			+17.5%

Shanghai vs. Durban - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.2% less for housing

	Shanghai	Durban
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$39.31 ZAR648.45	+272.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$464.82 ZAR7,666.67	-55.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$393.52 ZAR6,490.77	-33.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$111.87 ZAR1,845.13	+153.9%
Average			-24.2%

Shanghai vs. Durban - Cost of housing

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pay 75.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Durban
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$310.61 ZAR5,123.20	-78.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$7,585.59 ZAR125K	-72.6%
Average			-75.5%

Shanghai vs. Durban - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Durban
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.40 ZAR39.64	+101.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.67 ZAR44.02	-20.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.61 ZAR59.47	-3.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$31.70 ZAR522.86	-51.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$7.21 ZAR118.93	-19.4%
Average			-13.5%

Shanghai vs. Durban - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.6% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Durban
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$53.69 ZAR885.57	-1.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$30.14 ZAR497.07	-18.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$98.53 ZAR1,625.08	+30.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$83.65 ZAR1,379.78	-20.9%
Average			-4.6%

Shanghai vs. Durban - 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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