Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Africa

Stellenbosch vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Stellenbosch is 6.9% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 35.3% more in Stellenbosch
Groceries: pay 3.1% less in Stellenbosch
Transportation: pay 46.0% more in Stellenbosch
Housing: pay 10.1% less in Stellenbosch
Childcare: pay 87.5% less in Stellenbosch
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.1% less in Stellenbosch
Clothing: pay 0.7% more in Stellenbosch

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

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Stellenbosch vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.3% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Stellenbosch
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$7.21 ZAR118.93	+61.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$4.81 ZAR79.29	-7.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.96 ZAR15.86	+60.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.74 ZAR12.22	+100.4%
Average			+35.3%

Shanghai vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.1% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Stellenbosch
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.13 ZAR18.58	-43.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.39 ZAR72.41	-48.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$4.99 ZAR82.36	-27.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.88 ZAR47.44	+69.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.63 ZAR43.46	+78.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.79 ZAR13.03	-20.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.65 ZAR10.79	-15.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.77 ZAR12.72	-14.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.71 ZAR11.69	-7.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.48 ZAR7.86	+33.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.68 ZAR11.24	+57.3%
Average			-3.1%

Shanghai vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.0% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Stellenbosch
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.30 ZAR87.50	+6.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	+82.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$12.62 ZAR208.13	+122.6%
Average			+46.0%

Shanghai vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.1% less for housing

	Shanghai	Stellenbosch
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$34.05 ZAR561.70	+222.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$681.00 ZAR11,232.40	-34.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$480.71 ZAR7,928.76	-18.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$77.26 ZAR1,274.26	+75.4%
Average			-10.1%

Shanghai vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of housing

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pay 87.5% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Stellenbosch
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$261.38 ZAR4,311.26	-81.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$2,343.44 ZAR38,652.68	-91.5%
Average			-87.5%

Shanghai vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Stellenbosch
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.70 ZAR44.60	+126.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.06 ZAR33.94	-38.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.61 ZAR59.47	-3.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$28.54 ZAR470.77	-56.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$8.71 ZAR143.71	-2.6%
Average			-14.1%

Shanghai vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.7% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Stellenbosch
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$52.84 ZAR871.52	-2.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$29.04 ZAR479.03	-21.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$119.84 ZAR1,976.68	+58.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	-14.7%
Average			+0.7%

Shanghai vs. Stellenbosch - 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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