Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Belarus

Minsk vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Minsk is 19.0% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 71.8% more in Minsk
Groceries: pay 19.8% less in Minsk
Transportation: pay 20.8% less in Minsk
Housing: pay 32.0% less in Minsk
Childcare: pay 50.5% less in Minsk
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.6% less in Minsk
Clothing: pay 12.1% more in Minsk

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

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Minsk vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 71.8% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Minsk
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$9.78 BYN29.50	+118.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$6.85 BYN20.65	+31.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.96 BYN2.89	+60.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.59 BYN1.79	+60.0%
Average			+71.8%

Shanghai vs. Minsk - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.8% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Minsk
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.68 BYN2.05	-65.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.79 BYN11.43	-55.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$3.45 BYN10.42	-49.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$1.64 BYN4.94	-3.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.40 BYN7.25	+62.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.70 BYN2.10	-30.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.76 BYN2.31	-0.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.97 BYN2.93	+7.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.21 BYN3.66	+57.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.29 BYN0.88	-18.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.33 BYN1.01	-22.9%
Average			-19.8%

Shanghai vs. Minsk - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.8% less for transportation

	Shanghai	Minsk
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.33 BYN10.04	-32.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$18.59 BYN56.05	-37.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$21,193.80 BYN63,917.93	+9.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$5.54 BYN16.72	-2.2%
Average			-20.8%

Shanghai vs. Minsk - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.0% less for housing

	Shanghai	Minsk
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$13.39 BYN40.39	+26.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$581.42 BYN1,753.49	-43.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$380.44 BYN1,147.36	-35.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$46.63 BYN140.62	+5.8%
Average			-32.0%

Shanghai vs. Minsk - Cost of housing

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pay 50.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Minsk
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$396.70 BYN1,196.41	-71.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$24,214.29 BYN73,027.36	-12.5%
Average			-50.5%

Shanghai vs. Minsk - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Minsk
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.63 BYN4.92	+36.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.32 BYN7.00	-30.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$2.61 BYN7.87	-30.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$37.06 BYN111.77	-43.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$5.87 BYN17.70	-34.4%
Average			-25.6%

Shanghai vs. Minsk - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Minsk
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$50.77 BYN153.12	-6.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$44.17 BYN133.20	+19.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$106.09 BYN319.97	+40.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$106.95 BYN322.54	+1.2%
Average			+12.1%

Shanghai vs. Minsk - 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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