Abu Dhabi vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Abu Dhabi Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1942
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4262
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$1271
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$2152
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$453
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$77.2
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3050
$931
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
53
100
😀 Quality of life
85
77
🏙️ Population
1.57M
24.9M

The cost of living in Abu Dhabi is 72% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 2187th and 4879th ($1942 vs $1128) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 5th in the United Arab Emirates and China, respectively. Check the United Arab Emirates vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Abu Dhabi compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Abu Dhabi ranked 3rd best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 443rd and 1383rd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Abu Dhabi vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Abu Dhabi vs Shanghai

Prices for goods and services in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Abu Dhabi Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$10.9
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$67.6
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.53
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$11.7
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$5.6
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.34
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1358
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1002
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2476
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1762
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$95.6
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$146
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$102
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.01%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5485
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$12028
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.68
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$25.9
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.63
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.78
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.97
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.59
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.37
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.63
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.8
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.07
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.4
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.54
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.79
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.18
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.41
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.41
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.7
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.54
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$6.29
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.83
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.95
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.73
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$5.92
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$62.4
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.5
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$78.5
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$16.9
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$59.4
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$94.3
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$598
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$12663
$27624

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Abu Dhabi

Distance City Cost of living
117 km or 73 mi Madinat Zayed
$1730
129 km or 80 mi Dubai
$2514
142 km or 88 mi Sharjah
$1419
143 km or 89 mi Al Ain
$1449
152 km or 94 mi Ajman
$2521
170 km or 105 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1183
211 km or 131 mi Fujairah
$1228
237 km or 147 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1398
300 km or 187 mi Doha
$1849
318 km or 198 mi Al Khor
$1770
356 km or 221 mi Bandar Abbas
$632
365 km or 227 mi Nizwa
$792
395 km or 246 mi Seeb
$1078
425 km or 264 mi Riffa
$1201
427 km or 265 mi Manama
$1237
428 km or 266 mi Isa Town
$1230
439 km or 273 mi Muscat
$1081
454 km or 282 mi Jahrom
$530
468 km or 291 mi Dhahran
$908
481 km or 299 mi Dammam
$1008
486 km or 302 mi Al-Mubarraz
$806
501 km or 311 mi Fasa
$529
514 km or 320 mi Qatif
$873
548 km or 341 mi Jubail
$930
568 km or 353 mi Sirjan
$534
575 km or 357 mi Jiroft
$568
599 km or 372 mi Shiraz
$553
610 km or 379 mi Bushehr
$453
617 km or 384 mi Borazjan
$477
620 km or 385 mi Marvdasht
$530
632 km or 392 mi Kazerun
$503
637 km or 396 mi Chabahar
$573
649 km or 404 mi Bam
$557
678 km or 421 mi Rafsanjan
$604
698 km or 434 mi Kerman
$761
701 km or 435 mi Iranshahr
$624
741 km or 460 mi Yasuj
$463
775 km or 481 mi Riyadh
$1627
790 km or 491 mi Al Wafrah
$1283
792 km or 492 mi Behbahan
$483

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1003
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$673
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$696
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$771
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$597
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$612
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$632
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$547
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$648
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$679
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$631
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$634
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$576
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$713
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$621
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$740
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$674
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$601
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$630
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$826
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$622
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$634
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$639
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$597
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$642
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$597
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$664
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$531
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$602
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$618
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$637
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$672
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$663
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$590
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$666
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$659
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$617
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$753