Abu Dhabi vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Abu Dhabi Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1802
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4691
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$1140
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$2569
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$442
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$69.3
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3906
$1905
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
52
100
😀 Quality of life
83
79
🏙️ Population
1.48M
24.9M

The cost of living in Abu Dhabi is 59% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 2486th and 4780th ($1802 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 6th 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 2.2 months in Abu Dhabi compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Abu Dhabi ranked 3rd best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 405th and 571st 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
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$76.3
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.62
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$10.9
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$5.81
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.09
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1179
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$880
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2759
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2207
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$95.9
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$147
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$104
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.18%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4957
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4315
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.67
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$24.7
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.28
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.8
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.79
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.34
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.04
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.07
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.41
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.83
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.7
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.12
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.8
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.06
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.66
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.6
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.21
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$6.21
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.61
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.03
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.83
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$4.95
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$66.9
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.7
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$90.5
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$13.7
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$67.3
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$105
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$667
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$12787
$31401

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
$1630
129 km or 80 mi Dubai
$2309
142 km or 88 mi Sharjah
$1503
143 km or 89 mi Al Ain
$1050
152 km or 94 mi Ajman
$2084
170 km or 105 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1768
211 km or 131 mi Fujairah
$1232
237 km or 147 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1603
300 km or 187 mi Doha
$1810
318 km or 198 mi Al Khor
$1719
356 km or 221 mi Bandar Abbas
$728
365 km or 227 mi Nizwa
$786
395 km or 246 mi Seeb
$994
425 km or 264 mi Riffa
$1218
427 km or 265 mi Manama
$1267
428 km or 266 mi Isa Town
$1226
439 km or 273 mi Muscat
$1110
454 km or 282 mi Jahrom
$561
468 km or 291 mi Dhahran
$870
481 km or 299 mi Dammam
$989
486 km or 302 mi Al-Mubarraz
$783
501 km or 311 mi Fasa
$556
514 km or 320 mi Qatif
$878
548 km or 341 mi Jubail
$928
568 km or 353 mi Sirjan
$520
575 km or 357 mi Jiroft
$547
599 km or 372 mi Shiraz
$558
610 km or 379 mi Bushehr
$548
617 km or 384 mi Borazjan
$541
620 km or 385 mi Marvdasht
$546
632 km or 392 mi Kazerun
$537
637 km or 396 mi Chabahar
$687
649 km or 404 mi Bam
$531
678 km or 421 mi Rafsanjan
$515
698 km or 434 mi Kerman
$467
701 km or 435 mi Iranshahr
$639
741 km or 460 mi Yasuj
$489
775 km or 481 mi Riyadh
$1586
790 km or 491 mi Al Wafrah
$1268
792 km or 492 mi Behbahan
$507

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1028
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$706
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$749
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$738
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$585
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$661
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$718
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$620
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$676
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$706
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$685
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$612
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$733
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$674
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$742
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$702
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$729
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$674
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$843
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$676
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$690
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$629
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$698
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$630
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$673
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$698
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$650
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$651
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$703
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$708
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$699
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$702
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$771
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$648
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$774