Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Bulgaria

Pleven vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Pleven is 23.2% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 72.9% more in Pleven
Groceries: pay 8.0% more in Pleven
Transportation: pay 37.7% more in Pleven
Housing: pay 57.8% less in Pleven
Childcare: pay 71.4% less in Pleven
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.9% less in Pleven
Clothing: pay 8.4% less in Pleven

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

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Pleven vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 72.9% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Pleven
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$8.58 BGN14.93	+91.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$6.28 BGN10.92	+20.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.30 BGN2.26	+116.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$1.14 BGN1.99	+209.5%
Average			+72.9%

Shanghai vs. Pleven - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.0% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Pleven
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.15 BGN1.99	-42.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.58 BGN7.97	-46.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.07 BGN10.56	-11.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$3.51 BGN6.10	+106.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$3.64 BGN6.33	+146.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.57 BGN0.99	-42.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.91 BGN1.58	+18.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.98 BGN1.71	+8.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$1.04 BGN1.81	+35.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.55 BGN0.95	+52.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.48 BGN0.84	+11.2%
Average			+8.0%

Shanghai vs. Pleven - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.7% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Pleven
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$6.12 BGN10.65	+23.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$40.06 BGN69.72	+34.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$30,050.07 BGN52,295.53	+55.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$8.56 BGN14.90	+51.1%
Average			+37.7%

Shanghai vs. Pleven - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.8% less for housing

	Shanghai	Pleven
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$10.69 BGN18.60	+1.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$336.39 BGN585.42	-67.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$171.73 BGN298.85	-70.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$74.43 BGN129.53	+68.9%
Average			-57.8%

Shanghai vs. Pleven - Cost of housing

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pay 71.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Pleven
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$508.86 BGN885.56	-64.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$6,295.85 BGN10,956.54	-77.3%
Average			-71.4%

Shanghai vs. Pleven - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Pleven
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.15 BGN3.74	+79.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.14 BGN3.73	-36.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.55 BGN6.18	-4.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$35.93 BGN62.52	-45.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$8.59 BGN14.95	-4.0%
Average			-12.9%

Shanghai vs. Pleven - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.4% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Pleven
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$41.22 BGN71.74	-24.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$28.62 BGN49.81	-22.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$94.46 BGN164.38	+25.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$101.51 BGN176.65	-4.0%
Average			-8.4%

Shanghai vs. Pleven - 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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