Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Douglas and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $2,559 in Port Douglas, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Port Douglas
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Port Douglas Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Port Douglas

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,559

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Port Douglas 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 Port Douglas and in Shanghai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,559 in Port Douglas versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Port Douglas $2,559
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,834 in Port Douglas versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Port Douglas $3,834
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,110 in Port Douglas versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Port Douglas $5,110
Shanghai $2,755

Living in Port Douglas is roughly 106% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Port Douglas is 90% above, Shanghai is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.13 A$24.54

$4.56 ¥30.45

275.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.0 A$142

$30.21 ¥202

227.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.57 A$18.01

$5.25 ¥35.10

139.43%

Cappuccino

$4.47 A$6.40

$3.28 ¥21.92

36.28%

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

$3.12 A$4.46

$0.57 ¥3.84

447.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 A$3.79

$0.36 ¥2.39

633.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.00 A$10.03

$1.23 ¥8.22

469.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.12 A$11.63

$2.27 ¥15.17

257.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 A$2.66

$1.84 ¥12.29

1.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 A$3.80

$1.96 ¥13.07

35.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.52 A$3.61

$1.03 ¥6.87

144.66%

Eggs

$5.34 A$7.66

$1.67 ¥11.15

219.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.19 A$13.17

$16.96 ¥113

-45.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.57 A$19.44

$3.19 ¥21.31

325.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.86 A$21.29

$12.90 ¥86.2

15.19%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 A$5.92

$2.24 ¥14.99

84.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 A$4.08

$1.66 ¥11.12

71.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.67 A$5.26

$2.02 ¥13.53

81.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.64 A$8.07

$1.66 ¥11.07

239.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.54

$0.77 ¥5.17

220.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.53 A$3.63

$0.93 ¥6.21

172.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.76 A$3.95

$0.63 ¥4.19

338.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 A$3.72

$0.60 ¥3.98

331.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.97 A$64.4

$3.80 ¥25.42

1083.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.83 A$19.81

$10.87 ¥72.6

27.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.65 A$5.23

$0.82 ¥5.51

345.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.36 A$7.68

$1.61 ¥10.76

232.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.67 A$3.83

$0.61 ¥4.11

337.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$80.1 A$115

$29.40 ¥196

172.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 A$3.64

$2.11 ¥14.10

20.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.00 A$2.86

$0.43 ¥2.86

365.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.60 A$61.0

$9.06 ¥60.6

370.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 A$1.78

$1.33 ¥8.88

-6.77%

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

$30.4K A$43.6K

$19.0K ¥127.1K

59.92%

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

$40.3K A$57.8K

$18.7K ¥125.0K

115.66%

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

$162 A$232

$57.8 ¥386

180.16%

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

$35.15 A$50.4

$8.09 ¥54.0

334.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.4 A$95.1

$10.48 ¥70.0

533.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.3 A$83.5

$65.7 ¥439

-11.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.90 A$25.64

$17.82 ¥119

0.45%

Cinema Ticket

$13.65 A$19.56

$8.95 ¥59.8

52.51%

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

$2,041 A$2,923

$1,414 ¥9,444

44.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.9K A$19.9K

$27.9K ¥186.1K

-50.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.1 A$128

$54.0 ¥361

64.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$37.09 ¥248

90.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$125 A$179

$74.3 ¥496

68.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$106 ¥705

25.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,463 A$2,096

$1,055 ¥7,050

38.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 A$1,730

$585 ¥3,906

106.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,047 A$2,932

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-17.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,965 A$2,815

$1,232 ¥8,233

59.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,639 A$9,510

$13.9K ¥93.0K

-52.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,060 A$7,249

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-19.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 ¥11.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.32

3.36

88.10%

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

Last update for Port Douglas: October 13, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Port Douglas

$1.2K 47.2%

Shanghai

$585 47% 51.6% $623

Groceries & Markets

Port Douglas

$409 16%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 42.5% $174

Eating Out

Port Douglas

$303 11.8%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 65% $197

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Port Douglas

$263 10.3%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 71% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Port Douglas

$187 7.3%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 35% $66

Getting Around

Port Douglas

$103 4%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 65% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Port Douglas

$86 3.4%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 2.3% $2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,463 in Port Douglas and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $99.0 in Port Douglas vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $409 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Port Douglas

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

08:11 8:11 AM

06:11 6:11 AM

2 h behind Port Douglas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,500

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.698 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.698 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Port Douglas Shanghai 5,890 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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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

Port Douglas vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Port Douglas and Shanghai differ by about 106% in total monthly costs ($2,559 vs $1,244 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,838 in Port Douglas and $1,865 in Shanghai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,463 in Port Douglas versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 74% higher in Port Douglas. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Shanghai – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $99.0 in Port Douglas. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,559 in Port Douglas, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Port Douglas. 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, Port Douglas 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 106% less than in Port Douglas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.