Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Port Moresby

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,250 a month against $1,532 in Port Moresby, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Port Moresby
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Port Moresby Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

Port Moresby

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,532

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Port Moresby

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 Port Moresby actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,250 in Shanghai versus $1,532 in Port Moresby.

Shanghai $1,250
Port Moresby $1,532

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,019 in Shanghai versus $2,418 in Port Moresby.

Shanghai $2,019
Port Moresby $2,418

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,789 in Shanghai versus $3,305 in Port Moresby.

Shanghai $2,789
Port Moresby $3,305

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 18% less than in Port Moresby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shanghai is 7% below, Port Moresby is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.55 ¥30.45

$7.76 PGK 33.98

-41.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.52 ¥198

$43.89 PGK 192

-32.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.10 ¥34.13

$5.38 PGK 23.58

-5.20%

Cappuccino

$3.42 ¥22.92

$2.44 PGK 10.69

40.16%

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

$0.61 ¥4.12

$0.77 PGK 3.38

-20.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ¥2.41

$0.67 PGK 2.95

-46.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.21 ¥8.08

$2.91 PGK 12.74

-58.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 ¥15.33

$3.56 PGK 15.59

-35.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 ¥12.48

$1.82 PGK 7.97

2.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.01 ¥13.47

$1.54 PGK 6.74

30.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.84

$1.39 PGK 6.09

-26.62%

Eggs

$1.72 ¥11.48

$3.62 PGK 15.86

-52.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.19 ¥115

$8.64 PGK 37.85

98.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.35 ¥22.43

$5.60 PGK 24.55

-40.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 ¥85.7

$9.92 PGK 43.46

29.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 ¥14.54

$4.21 PGK 18.45

-48.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 ¥11.67

$3.12 PGK 13.67

-44.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 ¥12.99

$7.01 PGK 30.72

-72.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 ¥11.25

$6.56 PGK 28.75

-74.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.18

$3.40 PGK 14.92

-77.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.22

$2.92 PGK 12.79

-68.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 ¥4.17

$2.33 PGK 10.20

-73.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.88

$1.29 PGK 5.64

-55.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.83 ¥25.64

$6.26 PGK 27.45

-38.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.94 ¥73.2

$10.73 PGK 47.04

1.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥5.60

$2.54 PGK 11.11

-66.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.73

$3.51 PGK 15.38

-54.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$0.42 PGK 1.86

40.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.27 ¥203

$21.95 PGK 96.2

37.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.06 ¥13.79

$5.43 PGK 23.79

-62.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.13

$2.25 PGK 9.87

-79.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.80 ¥58.9

$15.47 PGK 67.8

-43.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ¥8.53

$0.94 PGK 4.13

35.11%

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

$19.6K ¥131.2K

$49.2K PGK 215.6K

-60.17%

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

$18.6K ¥124.4K

$17.3K PGK 75.6K

7.68%

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

$57.2 ¥383

$117 PGK 513

-51.14%

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

$8.06 ¥53.9

$22.67 PGK 99.4

-64.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.52 ¥70.4

$91.2 PGK 399

-88.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.6 ¥433

$60.2 PGK 264

7.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.63 ¥118

$22.04 PGK 96.6

-20.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.84 ¥59.1

$8.74 PGK 38.31

1.14%

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

$1,437 ¥9,620

$836 PGK 3,665

71.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.1K ¥187.9K

$6,242 PGK 27.4K

349.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.7 ¥366

$32.86 PGK 144

66.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.43 ¥244

$31.67 PGK 139

15.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.4 ¥504

$136 PGK 595

-44.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 ¥696

$160 PGK 702

-35.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,039 ¥6,956

$1,577 PGK 6,911

-34.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$589 ¥3,940

$551 PGK 2,414

6.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,487 ¥16.6K

$3,049 PGK 13.4K

-18.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,237 ¥8,282

$1,129 PGK 4,945

9.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.6K ¥90.9K

$2,035 PGK 8,917

567.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,191 ¥41.4K

$3,755 PGK 16.5K

64.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,715 ¥11.5K

$429 PGK 1,881

299.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

12.17

-72.39%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Last update for Port Moresby: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$589 47.1%

Port Moresby

$551 36.3% 6.4% $38

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$237 19%

Port Moresby

$320 21.1% 35.1% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$122 9.7%

Port Moresby

$162 10.7% 33.2% $40

Eating Out

Shanghai

$107 8.6%

Port Moresby

$135 8.9% 25.7% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$82 6.6%

Port Moresby

$78 5.1% 5.6% $4.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$76 6.1%

Port Moresby

$231 15.2% 205% $155

Getting Around

Shanghai

$37 3%

Port Moresby

$40 2.7% 9% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,039 in Shanghai and $1,577 in Port Moresby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 300% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30.00 in Shanghai vs $44.00 in Port Moresby for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $320 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇵🇬 Port Moresby

🕒 Local time

15:51 3:51 PM

17:51 5:51 PM

2 h ahead of Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

364,145 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.149 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.203 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shanghai Port Moresby 5,290 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
Port Moresby

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 Port Moresby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Port Moresby. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Shanghai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 300% 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: $1,039 in Shanghai versus $1,577 in Port Moresby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Port Moresby. 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 $44.00 in Port Moresby. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,250 in Shanghai versus $1,532 in Port Moresby, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Port Moresby. 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 23% less than in Port Moresby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.