Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Bulgaria

Stara Zagora vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Stara Zagora is 30.1% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Stara Zagora
Groceries: pay 9.7% less in Stara Zagora
Transportation: pay 10.2% more in Stara Zagora
Housing: pay 53.3% less in Stara Zagora
Childcare: pay 88.4% less in Stara Zagora
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.2% less in Stara Zagora
Clothing: pay 41.0% less in Stara Zagora

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

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Stara Zagora vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Stara Zagora instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Stara Zagora
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$10.29 BGN17.90	+129.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$8.96 BGN15.59	+71.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.54 BGN2.68	+156.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.85 BGN1.48	+129.9%
Average			+109.8%

Shanghai vs. Stara Zagora - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.7% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Stara Zagora
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.84 BGN1.45	-57.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.65 BGN8.10	-45.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.66 BGN11.59	-3.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.30 BGN4.01	+35.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.94 BGN5.12	+99.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.58 BGN1.02	-41.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.76 BGN1.32	-1.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.78 BGN1.36	-13.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.87 BGN1.52	+13.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.44 BGN0.77	+23.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.34 BGN0.59	-22.2%
Average			-9.7%

Shanghai vs. Stara Zagora - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.2% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Stara Zagora
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$6.16 BGN10.72	+24.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$18.32 BGN31.88	-38.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$30,065.86 BGN52,323.01	+55.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$6.36 BGN11.06	+12.2%
Average			+10.2%

Shanghai vs. Stara Zagora - Cost of transportation

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pay 53.3% less for housing

	Shanghai	Stara Zagora
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$12.18 BGN21.20	+15.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$294.73 BGN512.91	-71.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$252.72 BGN439.80	-57.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$71.13 BGN123.78	+61.4%
Average			-53.3%

Shanghai vs. Stara Zagora - Cost of housing

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pay 88.4% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Stara Zagora
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$229.22 BGN398.91	-83.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$2,292.20 BGN3,989.07	-91.7%
Average			-88.4%

Shanghai vs. Stara Zagora - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Stara Zagora
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.24 BGN3.90	+87.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.27 BGN3.96	-32.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.72 BGN6.48	-0.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$26.92 BGN46.85	-59.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$8.87 BGN15.44	-0.9%
Average			-16.2%

Shanghai vs. Stara Zagora - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.0% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Stara Zagora
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$30.51 BGN53.09	-43.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$19.32 BGN33.62	-47.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$64.36 BGN112.01	-14.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$51.48 BGN89.59	-51.3%
Average			-41.0%

Shanghai vs. Stara Zagora - 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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