Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Dominican Republic

Punta Cana vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Punta Cana is 28.4% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 74.5% more in Punta Cana
Groceries: pay 16.7% more in Punta Cana
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Punta Cana
Housing: pay 58.9% more in Punta Cana
Childcare: pay 79.3% less in Punta Cana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.3% more in Punta Cana
Clothing: pay 3.7% less in Punta Cana

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

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Punta Cana vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Punta Cana instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 74.5% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Punta Cana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥28.50	$8.05 DOP471.26	+91.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.61 CN¥37.99	$7.25 DOP424.14	+29.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.56	$0.97 DOP56.94	+85.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 CN¥2.21	$0.63 DOP36.76	+92.2%
Average			+74.5%

Shanghai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.7% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Punta Cana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.86 CN¥12.59	$1.50 DOP87.59	-19.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.08 CN¥54.74	$3.66 DOP213.99	-54.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.27 CN¥56.02	$5.00 DOP292.56	-39.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥11.82	$2.39 DOP140.04	+37.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.36 CN¥9.22	$2.47 DOP144.70	+81.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.00 CN¥6.80	$1.17 DOP68.33	+16.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 CN¥5.28	$0.38 DOP22.51	-50.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 CN¥5.69	$1.27 DOP74.15	+50.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 CN¥4.48	$0.78 DOP45.68	+18.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.34	$0.51 DOP29.69	+46.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 CN¥3.32	$0.97 DOP56.55	+97.1%
Average			+16.7%

Shanghai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Shanghai	Punta Cana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.24 CN¥28.71	$4.68 DOP274.12	+10.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.05 CN¥237.47	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,627.64 CN¥133K	$29,626.22 DOP2M	+50.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.61 CN¥37.99	$20.61 DOP1,206.43	+267.5%
Average			+109.6%

Shanghai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.9% more for housing

	Shanghai	Punta Cana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.37 CN¥83.84	$32.44 DOP1,898.72	+162.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$926.30 CN¥6,275.90	$813.68 DOP47,631.17	-12.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$551.44 CN¥3,736.14	$645.22 DOP37,769.61	+17.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$40.55 CN¥274.71	$68.45 DOP4,006.70	+68.8%
Average			+58.9%

Shanghai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of housing

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pay 79.3% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Punta Cana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,229.70 CN¥8,331.47	$225.42 DOP13,195.38	-81.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$29,777.93 CN¥202K	$6,891.32 DOP403K	-76.9%
Average			-79.3%

Shanghai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Punta Cana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.40 CN¥9.50	$2.42 DOP141.38	+72.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.25 CN¥22.01	$2.36 DOP138.05	-27.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.80 CN¥19.00	$5.64 DOP329.88	+101.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.60 CN¥390.24	$62.37 DOP3,650.78	+8.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥56.99	$4.83 DOP282.76	-42.6%
Average			+22.3%

Shanghai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.7% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Punta Cana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.70 CN¥316.43	$28.94 DOP1,693.82	-38.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.62 CN¥254.91	$48.04 DOP2,811.87	+27.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 CN¥490.05	$61.70 DOP3,611.99	-14.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.50 CN¥741.92	$120.75 DOP7,068.17	+10.3%
Average			-3.7%

Shanghai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: July 2026

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