Cost of living comparison

Taiwan

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Taoyuan Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 0.8% cheaper than Taoyuan.

Restaurants: pay 11.8% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 30.9% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 16.6% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 27.4% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 53.6% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.2% more in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 2.9% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Taoyuan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.8% less for restaurants

	Taoyuan	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 NT$140.07	$4.47 CN¥29.94	+3.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.65 NT$183.37	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-7.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.99 NT$32.26	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-39.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 NT$22.56	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-46.8%
Average			-11.8%

Taoyuan vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.9% less for groceries

	Taoyuan	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$1.21 NT$39.35	$1.98 CN¥13.22	+62.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.62 NT$149.92	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+86.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.93 NT$354.77	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-37.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.15 NT$69.78	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-21.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.37 NT$109.28	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-56.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.73 NT$56.07	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-42.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92 NT$29.95	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-16.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.38 NT$44.82	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-34.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.40 NT$45.44	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-45.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 NT$36.97	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-68.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.90 NT$29.26	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-52.0%
Average			-30.9%

Taoyuan vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.6% less for transportation

	Taoyuan	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.85 NT$124.91	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+29.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.67 NT$1,222.44	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-20.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,523.97 NT$1M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-42.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.10 NT$295.42	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-37.7%
Average			-16.6%

Taoyuan vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.4% more for housing

	Taoyuan	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.14 NT$718.59	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-52.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$649.26 NT$21,070.87	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+59.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$436.91 NT$14,179.24	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+34.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.90 NT$1,716.74	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-16.7%
Average			+27.4%

Taoyuan vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 53.6% more for childcare

	Taoyuan	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$523.16 NT$16,978.36	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+170.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$31,703.38 NT$1M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	-12.7%
Average			+53.6%

Taoyuan vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Taoyuan	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.88 NT$61.12	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-36.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 NT$97.50	$3.35 CN¥22.41	+11.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.02 NT$162.99	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-25.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.32 NT$1,113.78	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+91.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.99 NT$356.55	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-18.5%
Average			+1.2%

Taoyuan vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% less for clothing

	Taoyuan	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$91.03 NT$2,954.24	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-40.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.59 NT$797.98	$37.09 CN¥248.19	+50.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.18 NT$2,699.56	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-9.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.31 NT$3,157.98	$105.70 CN¥707.25	+8.6%
Average			-2.9%

Taoyuan vs. Shanghai - 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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