Cost of living comparison

compared to

Recife vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Recife is 20.6% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants
pay 54.4% more in Recife
Groceries
pay 16.9% less in Recife
Transportation
pay 16.2% more in Recife
Housing
pay 37.9% less in Recife
Childcare
pay 70.9% less in Recife
Entertainment and Sports
pay 30.7% less in Recife
Clothing
pay 3.0% less in Recife

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

Recife vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

pay 54.4% more for restaurants

 
Shanghai
Recife
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.47
CN¥29.87
$5.57
R$30.68
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.22
CN¥34.85
$9.95
R$54.79
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.60
CN¥4.00
$1.07
R$5.89

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pay 16.9% less for groceries

 
Shanghai
Recife
Bread
1 loaf
$1.98
CN¥13.19
$1.64
R$9.05
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.60
CN¥57.39
$3.62
R$19.92
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
CN¥45.91
$5.34
R$29.38

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pay 16.2% more for transportation

 
Shanghai
Recife
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.96
CN¥33.13
$5.01
R$27.56
Monthly public transit pass $29.83
CN¥199.12
$38.32
R$210.94
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,374.76
CN¥129K
$23,669.59
R$130K

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pay 37.9% less for housing

 
Shanghai
Recife
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.55
CN¥70.42
$17.62
R$96.98
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,036.96
CN¥6,921.79
$514.89
R$2,833.94
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $588.71
CN¥3,929.69
$260.56
R$1,434.09

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pay 70.9% less for childcare

 
Shanghai
Recife
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,413.50
CN¥9,435.22
$278.72
R$1,534.08
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,686.22
CN¥185K
$11,885.56
R$65,417.54

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pay 30.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Shanghai
Recife
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.19
CN¥7.96
$1.59
R$8.77
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.35
CN¥22.36
$2.54
R$13.99
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.73
CN¥24.89
$1.79
R$9.86

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pay 3.0% less for clothing

 
Shanghai
Recife
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.37
CN¥362.93
$45.39
R$249.84
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.09
CN¥247.61
$50.07
R$275.59
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$75.49
CN¥503.90
$76.05
R$418.58

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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