Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Taiwan

Taichung vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Taichung is 10.9% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 11.5% more in Taichung
Groceries: pay 55.6% more in Taichung
Transportation: pay 16.7% more in Taichung
Housing: pay 41.4% less in Taichung
Childcare: pay 61.9% less in Taichung
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.6% less in Taichung
Clothing: pay 11.8% more in Taichung

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

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Taichung vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.5% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Taichung
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.86	$4.71 NT$153.43	+5.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$4.71 NT$153.43	-9.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.00	$1.01 NT$32.84	+68.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.75 NT$24.32	+101.8%
Average			+11.5%

Shanghai vs. Taichung - Cost of restaurants

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pay 55.6% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Taichung
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.18	$1.73 NT$56.26	-12.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.38	$14.39 NT$468.81	+67.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥45.90	$12.19 NT$397.15	+77.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.33	$2.54 NT$82.85	+49.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.86	$3.58 NT$116.74	+142.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.63	$1.95 NT$63.41	+95.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.14	$0.87 NT$28.50	+13.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.03	$1.39 NT$45.24	+53.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.13	$1.00 NT$32.59	+30.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.39	$0.55 NT$17.98	+54.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.89	$0.87 NT$28.42	+101.3%
Average			+55.6%

Shanghai vs. Taichung - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.7% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Taichung
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.13	$3.93 NT$128.06	-20.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.09	$31.39 NT$1,022.85	+5.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$33,523.97 NT$1M	+73.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.83	$10.20 NT$332.43	+80.0%
Average			+16.7%

Shanghai vs. Taichung - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.4% less for housing

	Shanghai	Taichung
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.41	$21.18 NT$690.08	+100.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,920.65	$398.65 NT$12,990.21	-61.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,929.04	$277.01 NT$9,026.66	-52.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.03	$95.01 NT$3,096.13	+115.7%
Average			-41.4%

Shanghai vs. Taichung - Cost of housing

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pay 61.9% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Taichung
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,433.67	$340.05 NT$11,080.89	-75.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$16,741.06 NT$546K	-39.5%
Average			-61.9%

Shanghai vs. Taichung - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Taichung
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$1.57 NT$51.14	+31.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.36	$2.79 NT$90.92	-16.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$3.85 NT$125.30	+3.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥438.41	$32.43 NT$1,056.78	-50.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.73	$9.73 NT$317.08	+8.7%
Average			-12.6%

Shanghai vs. Taichung - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.8% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Taichung
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥362.87	$72.12 NT$2,350.00	+32.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥247.57	$36.02 NT$1,173.72	-2.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥503.82	$84.23 NT$2,744.65	+11.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥705.47	$115.09 NT$3,750.46	+8.9%
Average			+11.8%

Shanghai vs. Taichung - 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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