Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Brunei

Kuala Belait vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Belait is 11.2% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 58.7% more in Kuala Belait
Groceries: pay 73.7% more in Kuala Belait
Transportation: pay 16.3% less in Kuala Belait
Housing: pay 1.2% more in Kuala Belait
Childcare: pay 77.3% less in Kuala Belait
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.2% more in Kuala Belait
Clothing: pay 52.1% more in Kuala Belait

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

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Kuala Belait vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Belait instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 58.7% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Kuala Belait
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$7.81 BND9.99	+74.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$7.66 BND9.79	+46.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$0.92 BND1.18	+54.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.52 BND0.66	+39.4%
Average			+58.7%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Belait - Cost of restaurants

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pay 73.7% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Kuala Belait
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$2.47 BND3.16	+25.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$9.46 BND12.10	+10.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$7.05 BND9.01	+2.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.66 BND3.40	+56.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$4.41 BND5.64	+198.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$2.15 BND2.75	+116.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.99 BND1.27	+28.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$2.22 BND2.84	+146.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.15 BND1.47	+49.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.77 BND0.99	+115.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$1.28 BND1.64	+196.4%
Average			+73.7%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Belait - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.3% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Kuala Belait
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$1.39 BND1.78	-72.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$31,264.80 BND39,966.17	+61.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$30.48 BND38.96	+437.8%
Average			-16.3%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Belait - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.2% more for housing

	Shanghai	Kuala Belait
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$65.12 BND83.25	+517.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$742.24 BND948.81	-28.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$781.30 BND998.75	+32.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$29.87 BND38.19	-32.2%
Average			+1.2%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Belait - Cost of housing

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pay 77.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Kuala Belait
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$216.85 BND277.20	-84.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$9,323.57 BND11,918.43	-66.3%
Average			-77.3%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Belait - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Kuala Belait
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$1.95 BND2.50	+63.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$4.53 BND5.79	+35.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$7.81 BND9.99	+109.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$97.67 BND124.85	+48.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$5.47 BND6.99	-38.9%
Average			+23.2%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Belait - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 52.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Kuala Belait
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$76.20 BND97.40	+40.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$101.33 BND129.54	+173.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$154.15 BND197.06	+104.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$72.29 BND92.40	-31.6%
Average			+52.1%

Shanghai vs. Kuala Belait - 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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