Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Philippines

Makati vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Makati is 5.4% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 25.0% more in Makati
Groceries: pay 42.1% more in Makati
Transportation: pay 10.7% more in Makati
Housing: pay 2.1% less in Makati
Childcare: pay 61.1% less in Makati
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.4% less in Makati
Clothing: pay 4.2% more in Makati

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

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Makati vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.0% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Makati
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$6.38 ₱405.63	+42.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$4.78 ₱304.22	-8.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$1.10 ₱69.72	+82.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.52 ₱33.24	+41.2%
Average			+25.0%

Shanghai vs. Makati - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.1% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Makati
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.26 ₱80.28	-36.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$3.61 ₱229.43	-58.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$7.09 ₱451.28	+3.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.42 ₱154.00	+42.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$2.23 ₱142.06	+51.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.85 ₱117.71	+86.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.90 ₱57.08	+16.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.46 ₱93.14	+62.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.06 ₱67.46	+37.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$1.61 ₱102.42	+349.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$1.59 ₱101.19	+267.2%
Average			+42.1%

Shanghai vs. Makati - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.7% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Makati
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$4.87 ₱310.02	-1.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$57.38 ₱3,650.64	+92.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$21,359.52 ₱1M	+10.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$2.42 ₱154.14	-57.3%
Average			+10.7%

Shanghai vs. Makati - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1% less for housing

	Shanghai	Makati
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$32.27 ₱2,052.98	+205.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$819.67 ₱52,145.57	-21.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$423.47 ₱26,940.38	-28.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$118.47 ₱7,537.07	+168.9%
Average			-2.1%

Shanghai vs. Makati - Cost of housing

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pay 61.1% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Makati
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$797.00 ₱50,703.34	-43.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$7,438.64 ₱473K	-73.1%
Average			-61.1%

Shanghai vs. Makati - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Makati
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.39 ₱152.11	+100.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$2.62 ₱166.69	-21.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$2.62 ₱166.81	-29.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$54.99 ₱3,498.53	-16.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$7.17 ₱456.33	-19.8%
Average			-4.4%

Shanghai vs. Makati - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.2% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Makati
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$60.56 ₱3,852.95	+11.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$37.19 ₱2,366.16	+0.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$81.29 ₱5,171.74	+7.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$103.61 ₱6,591.43	-2.0%
Average			+4.2%

Shanghai vs. Makati - 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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