Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brookvale and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $2,494 in Brookvale, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Brookvale
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Brookvale Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Brookvale

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,494

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Brookvale and in Shanghai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Brookvale and in Shanghai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,494 in Brookvale versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Brookvale $2,494
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,614 in Brookvale versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Brookvale $3,614
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,735 in Brookvale versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Brookvale $4,735
Shanghai $2,755

Living in Brookvale is roughly 101% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Brookvale is 85% above, Shanghai is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 A$25.32

$4.56 ¥30.47

285.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.7 A$129

$30.21 ¥202

196.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.27 A$14.78

$5.25 ¥35.13

95.62%

Cappuccino

$4.03 A$5.80

$3.28 ¥21.94

22.87%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 A$4.16

$0.57 ¥3.84

407.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 A$3.16

$0.36 ¥2.39

511.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.77 A$11.18

$1.23 ¥8.23

531.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.39 A$10.63

$2.27 ¥15.18

225.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.24

$1.84 ¥12.30

-15.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 A$3.99

$1.96 ¥13.08

41.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.51

$1.03 ¥6.87

136.89%

Eggs

$5.30 A$7.62

$1.67 ¥11.16

217.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.66 A$16.78

$16.96 ¥113

-31.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.16

$3.19 ¥21.33

208.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.48 A$22.27

$12.90 ¥86.3

20.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.87 A$5.57

$2.24 ¥15.00

72.77%

Banana (1kg)

$3.21 A$4.62

$1.66 ¥11.13

93.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.39 A$4.87

$2.02 ¥13.54

67.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.29 A$7.62

$1.66 ¥11.08

218.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.19 A$4.59

$0.77 ¥5.17

314.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.81 A$4.04

$0.93 ¥6.21

202.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 A$3.25

$0.63 ¥4.19

258.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 A$1.92

$0.60 ¥3.99

121.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.16 A$63.6

$3.80 ¥25.44

1062.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.65 A$19.64

$10.87 ¥72.7

25.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.04 A$5.82

$0.82 ¥5.51

392.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 A$5.87

$1.61 ¥10.76

153.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 A$4.25

$0.61 ¥4.11

383.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.0 A$111

$29.40 ¥197

162.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.41 A$4.90

$2.11 ¥14.11

61.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 A$2.23

$0.43 ¥2.87

260.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.18 A$56.4

$9.06 ¥60.6

332.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 A$1.88

$1.33 ¥8.89

-2.26%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$26.9K A$38.8K

$19.0K ¥127.2K

41.59%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$29.6K A$42.7K

$18.7K ¥125.1K

58.46%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$185 A$266

$57.8 ¥387

219.43%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$26.75 A$38.49

$8.09 ¥54.1

230.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.3 A$82.5

$10.48 ¥70.0

446.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.7 A$73.0

$65.7 ¥439

-22.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.56 A$25.27

$17.82 ¥119

-1.46%

Cinema Ticket

$15.52 A$22.33

$8.95 ¥59.9

73.41%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,158 A$3,105

$1,414 ¥9,451

52.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.2K A$29.0K

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-27.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.9 A$111

$54.0 ¥361

42.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 A$82.2

$37.09 ¥248

54.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 A$154

$74.3 ¥496

43.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$188

$106 ¥706

23.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$974 A$1,402

$1,055 ¥7,056

-7.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,203 A$1,731

$585 ¥3,910

105.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,148 A$3,091

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-13.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,773 A$2,552

$1,232 ¥8,240

43.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,763 A$8,293

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-58.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,012 A$7,212

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-19.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,381 A$1,988

$1,711 ¥11.4K

-19.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.36

73.81%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Brookvale: October 10, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Brookvale

$1.2K 48.2%

Shanghai

$585 47% 51.4% $618

Groceries & Markets

Brookvale

$379 15.2%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 38.1% $145

Eating Out

Brookvale

$294 11.8%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 63.9% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brookvale

$269 10.8%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 71.6% $192

Clothing & Footwear

Brookvale

$167 6.7%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 27.1% $45

Getting Around

Brookvale

$100 4%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 63.9% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Brookvale

$82 3.3%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 2.3% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $974 in Brookvale and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 24% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $90.0 in Brookvale vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Brookvale

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

06:23 6:23 AM

03:23 3:23 AM

3 h behind Brookvale

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,127

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Brookvale Shanghai 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Brookvale
Shanghai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Brookvale vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brookvale and Shanghai differ by about 101% in total monthly costs ($2,494 vs $1,244 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Shanghai. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $974 in Brookvale versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,494 per month in Brookvale versus $1,244 in Shanghai – a 101% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Shanghai runs roughly 162% less than in Brookvale. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,494 in Brookvale, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Brookvale. The gap between the two cities makes Shanghai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Brookvale and Shanghai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Brookvale. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.