Shanghai's many more affordable motels and hotels offer comfort and convenience that won't break your budget. You want to spend your money out seeing the sights and absorbing the amazing cuisine, not on an expensive hotel where you'll only be sleeping for a short while before you get back out to enjoy the town.
The brand name motels in Shanghai can be on the higher end of a low budget night, meaning anywhere between $45 -$75USD per night. That being said, for that amount you get quite a great deal in Shanghai, where staff and construction costs are cheaper than in Europe and the US. The Super 8 Hotel is a cheap option with suitable comfort and all the things you've come to expect from a brand hotel. Similarly, the Holiday Inn Vista, Howard Johnson and Motel 168 are simple comfortable options on a decent budget.
Yacts Chain, Green Tree and Jin Jiang are all Chinese brand hotels that offer simple comfort and convenience but nothing in the way of general elegance or even faux charm. Still, for the price the options are great and can't be beat if you want a motel over a hostel. Believe it or not, in major cities the cheap motels can even run cheaper than hostels!
Along the same vain, the Xiang Yang, Heng Shan and Peace Garden Apartments are all Chinese motels that offer hot water, simple beds, and even a few small snack stalls that cater to your every (albeit basic) need.
867 Miaojing Road
SHANGHAI 00000
Near Pudong International Airport...
678 Anyuan Road
Convenient halt...
No 700 Chang Shou Road
Holiday Inn in Pu Dong, more than just a great business shack...
1033 KANGDING ROAD JINGAN DIST
Centrally located, affordable motel...
1228 ZHONGSHAN N ROAD
Foreign owned, Boutique upscale...
422 Tiantong Road
Simple Lodgings in old Shanghai...
5500 Chuansha Road
Impressive Western Decor and Standards...
459 Ju Men Road
Business ready, Affordable motel...
578 Chengshan Road
Pu Dong Xin District
Simple Business-ready Motel that Won't Harm your Budget...
1288 Dalian Road Yangpu
Yangpu District Shanghai
Pudong Motel at Puxi affordable prices...