Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,222 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Lisbon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Shanghai versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Shanghai $1,222
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,971 in Shanghai versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Shanghai $1,971
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,720 in Shanghai versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Shanghai $2,720
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 45% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shanghai is 10% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.53 ¥30.11

$16.65 €14.95

-72.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.16 ¥201

$61.7 €55.5

-51.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥34.04

$11.36 €10.20

-55.02%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥22.70

$2.97 €2.67

14.81%

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

$0.58 ¥3.85

$2.29 €2.06

-74.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.36

$1.74 €1.56

-79.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.22

$3.40 €3.06

-63.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ¥15.37

$3.31 €2.97

-30.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.52

$1.16 €1.04

62.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 ¥12.88

$1.91 €1.72

1.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.52

$1.51 €1.36

-35.10%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.31

$4.02 €3.61

-57.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.02 ¥113

$12.94 €11.62

31.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.22 ¥21.41

$7.77 €6.98

-58.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥86.0

$17.76 €15.95

-27.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 ¥14.31

$2.30 €2.07

-6.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.48

$1.73 €1.56

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.51

$1.86 €1.67

9.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.54

$2.59 €2.33

-33.20%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.51

$1.82 €1.64

-54.40%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.13

$1.97 €1.77

-53.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.48

$1.47 €1.32

-54.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$0.72 €0.65

-18.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.10

$6.58 €5.91

-42.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 ¥73.4

$5.61 €5.04

96.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥6.00

$1.36 €1.22

-33.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.67

$2.14 €1.92

-25.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 ¥3.81

$2.33 €2.10

-75.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ¥197

$44.68 €40.14

-33.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ¥14.25

$3.85 €3.46

-44.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.10

$1.07 €0.96

-56.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.74 ¥58.2

$16.46 €14.79

-46.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.93

$2.20 €1.98

-39.09%

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

$19.3K ¥128.1K

$34.2K €30.7K

-43.69%

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

$18.3K ¥121.7K

$38.7K €34.8K

-52.79%

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

$58.9 ¥392

$161 €145

-63.47%

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

$7.90 ¥52.5

$18.41 €16.54

-57.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.60 ¥70.5

$32.74 €29.41

-67.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.8 ¥431

$44.55 €40.02

45.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 ¥116

$19.10 €17.16

-8.53%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 ¥60.3

$9.60 €8.62

-5.62%

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

$1,587 ¥10.6K

$668 €600

137.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K ¥187.9K

$17.6K €15.8K

60.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 ¥363

$102 €91.6

-46.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.21 ¥248

$44.46 €39.94

-16.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 ¥496

$98.5 €88.5

-24.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥707

$124 €111

-14.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 ¥6,826

$1,608 €1,445

-36.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,722

$1,190 €1,069

-53.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,618 ¥17.4K

$2,812 €2,526

-6.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ¥7,926

$2,013 €1,808

-40.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K ¥89.0K

$7,839 €7,042

70.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,527 ¥43.4K

$4,576 €4,110

42.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 ¥11.4K

$1,575 €1,415

8.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

3.85

-12.73%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$559 45.8%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 113% $631

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$237 19.4%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 15.1% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$123 10%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 35.2% $43

Eating Out

Shanghai

$107 8.8%

Lisbon

$243 11% 127% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$83 6.8%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 23.1% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$77 6.3%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 174% $135

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 3%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 73.7% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,026 in Shanghai and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Shanghai vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $272 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

06:11 6:11 AM

22:11 10:11 PM

8 h behind Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shanghai Lisbon 10,710 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Shanghai vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,222 in Shanghai and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Shanghai is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Shanghai, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,026 in Shanghai versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,587 in Shanghai versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,222 in Shanghai versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. 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.

Expats usually find Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.