Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vanuatu and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,250 a month against $3,281 in Vanuatu, rent and utilities included – about $24,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

157

Cost of Living Index in Vanuatu
Learn more

Vanuatu Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
Learn more

Shanghai Living Index

Jump to prices

🇻🇺 Vanuatu

$3,281

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Vanuatu is 132.1% more expensive than Shanghai without rent, and 162.5% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Vanuatu is 97.3% more expensive than Shanghai without rent, and 94.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.78 VUV 1,497

$4.55 ¥30.40

180.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 VUV 6,697

$29.52 ¥197

93.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.57 VUV 1,706

$5.10 ¥34.08

185.69%

Cappuccino

$4.03 VUV 471

$3.42 ¥22.88

17.84%

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

$2.25 VUV 264

$0.61 ¥4.11

268.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 VUV 278

$0.36 ¥2.40

561.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 VUV 578

$1.21 ¥8.07

307.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 VUV 833

$2.29 ¥15.31

210.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.03 VUV 355

$1.86 ¥12.46

62.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.52 VUV 295

$2.01 ¥13.45

25.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.80 VUV 445

$1.02 ¥6.83

272.55%

Eggs

$5.87 VUV 687

$1.72 ¥11.46

241.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.92 VUV 1,863

$17.19 ¥115

-7.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.16 VUV 1,892

$3.35 ¥22.39

382.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.23 VUV 1,549

$12.80 ¥85.5

3.36%

Apples (1kg)

$6.80 VUV 797

$2.17 ¥14.51

213.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 VUV 250

$1.74 ¥11.65

22.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.11 VUV 481

$1.94 ¥12.96

111.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$9.62 VUV 1,126

$1.68 ¥11.23

472.62%

Potato (1kg)

$8.75 VUV 1,025

$0.77 ¥5.17

1036.36%

Onion (1kg)

$4.33 VUV 507

$0.93 ¥6.21

365.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.47 VUV 289

$0.62 ¥4.16

298.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 VUV 139

$0.58 ¥3.88

105.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.06 VUV 1,178

$3.83 ¥25.60

162.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.80 VUV 1,499

$10.94 ¥73.1

17.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 VUV 342

$0.84 ¥5.59

247.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 VUV 352

$1.60 ¥10.71

87.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.25 VUV 146

$0.59 ¥3.92

111.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.8 VUV 7,819

$30.27 ¥202

120.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.57 VUV 301

$2.06 ¥13.77

24.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 VUV 96.7

$0.47 ¥3.13

76.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.17 VUV 606

$8.80 ¥58.8

-41.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 VUV 205

$1.27 ¥8.51

37.80%

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

$23.3K VUV 2.7M

$19.6K ¥131.0K

18.83%

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

$37.8K VUV 4.4M

$18.6K ¥124.2K

103.31%

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

$624 VUV 73.0K

$57.2 ¥382

989.95%

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

$22.67 VUV 2,654

$8.06 ¥53.8

181.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$367 VUV 42.9K

$10.52 ¥70.3

3386.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 VUV 8,063

$64.6 ¥432

6.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.76 VUV 1,962

$17.63 ¥118

-4.93%

Cinema Ticket

$8.84 ¥59.1

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

$634 VUV 74.2K

$1,437 ¥9,605

-55.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,742 VUV 789.4K

$28.1K ¥187.5K

-75.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.55 VUV 4,747

$54.7 ¥365

-25.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.9 VUV 7,834

$36.43 ¥243

83.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.9 VUV 9,706

$75.4 ¥504

10.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 VUV 11.6K

$104 ¥695

-4.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 VUV 185.4K

$1,039 ¥6,945

52.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,218 VUV 142.6K

$589 ¥3,933

106.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,463 VUV 405.5K

$2,487 ¥16.6K

39.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,840 VUV 215.4K

$1,237 ¥8,268

48.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,084 VUV 712.3K

$13.6K ¥90.8K

-55.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,144 VUV 251.0K

$6,191 ¥41.4K

-65.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$342 VUV 40.1K

$1,715 ¥11.5K

-80.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.18

3.36

83.93%

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

Last update for Vanuatu: October 4, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Vanuatu

$1.2K 37.6%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 51.7% $629

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vanuatu

$1K 31.3%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 92.5% $937

Groceries & Markets

Vanuatu

$479 14.8%

Shanghai

$237 19% 50.6% $242

Eating Out

Vanuatu

$252 7.8%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 57.4% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Vanuatu

$130 4%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 6.6% $8.6

Getting Around

Vanuatu

$78 2.4%

Shanghai

$37 3% 52.8% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Vanuatu

$69 * 2.1%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 19.5% $13

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Good to know

🇻🇺 Vanuatu

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

18:09 6:09 PM

15:09 3:09 PM

3 h behind Vanuatu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

300,019

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Vanuatu Vatu VUV Vt

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 VUV = 8.54 USD

1,000 VUV = 7.62 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to VUV – Vanuatu Vatu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇺 Vanuatu Vatu (Vt)

Vanuatu Vatu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 117 VUV (1,000 VUV = 8.54 USD). 1 EUR = 131 VUV (1,000 VUV = 7.62 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to VUV in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Vanuatu Shanghai 7,390 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Vanuatu
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

Vanuatu vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vanuatu and Shanghai

CNY, USD, EUR to VUV – Vanuatu Vatu Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Vanuatu

Shanghai

Vanuatu

Shanghai

Vanuatu vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar countries

🇱🇺 Luxembourg

🇯🇪 Jersey

🇬🇱 Greenland

🇧🇸 Bahamas

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

🇱🇮 Liechtenstein

🇬🇺 Guam