Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Taiwan

New Taipei City vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

New Taipei City is 3.2% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 10.0% more in New Taipei City
Groceries: pay 87.4% more in New Taipei City
Transportation: pay 21.4% more in New Taipei City
Housing: pay 23.7% less in New Taipei City
Childcare: pay 40.5% less in New Taipei City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.9% less in New Taipei City
Clothing: pay 10.8% less in New Taipei City

The cost of groceries, transportation, and restaurants in New Taipei City are more expensive than in Shanghai. Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in New Taipei City. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in New Taipei City.

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New Taipei City vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Taipei City instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.0% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	New Taipei City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$4.71 NT$152.81	+5.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.18 NT$168.09	-0.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.85 NT$27.73	+42.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.55 NT$17.83	+48.5%
Average			+10.0%

Shanghai vs. New Taipei City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 87.4% more for groceries

	Shanghai	New Taipei City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.86 NT$60.27	-6.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$12.46 NT$404.30	+44.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$11.78 NT$382.41	+71.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.23 NT$72.33	+31.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$4.88 NT$158.26	+229.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.85 NT$60.07	+86.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.12 NT$36.39	+45.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.25 NT$40.43	+37.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.82 NT$58.91	+136.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.85 NT$60.07	+417.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.94 NT$30.61	+117.7%
Average			+87.4%

Shanghai vs. New Taipei City - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.4% more for transportation

	Shanghai	New Taipei City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$3.85 NT$125.09	-22.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$37.67 NT$1,222.44	+26.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$33,523.97 NT$1M	+73.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$10.28 NT$333.62	+81.4%
Average			+21.4%

Shanghai vs. New Taipei City - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.7% less for housing

	Shanghai	New Taipei City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$23.06 NT$748.24	+118.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$634.96 NT$20,606.88	-38.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$344.50 NT$11,180.25	-41.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$86.41 NT$2,804.43	+96.1%
Average			-23.7%

Shanghai vs. New Taipei City - Cost of housing

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pay 40.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	New Taipei City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$651.33 NT$21,138.06	-53.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$21,299.70 NT$691K	-23.1%
Average			-40.5%

Shanghai vs. New Taipei City - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	New Taipei City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.57 NT$50.94	+31.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.34 NT$75.84	-30.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$4.32 NT$140.07	+15.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$38.71 NT$1,256.40	-41.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$12.56 NT$407.48	+40.3%
Average			-4.9%

Shanghai vs. New Taipei City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% less for clothing

	Shanghai	New Taipei City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$35.57 NT$1,154.53	-34.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$31.39 NT$1,018.70	-15.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$92.08 NT$2,988.19	+22.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$98.88 NT$3,208.91	-6.5%
Average			-10.8%

Shanghai vs. New Taipei City - 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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