Beijing vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Beijing Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1029
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2645
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$589
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$1040
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$246
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$98
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$658
$931
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
73
77
🏙️ Population
21.9M
24.9M

The cost of living in Beijing is 9% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5355th and 4879th ($1029 vs $1128) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 5th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Beijing compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Ranked 11th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 2546th vs 1383rd among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Beijing vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Beijing vs Shanghai

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

Beijing Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.24
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$27.8
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.16
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.12
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$2.82
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.49
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$850
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$469
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1549
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$839
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$30.5
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$46.5
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13.3
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.51%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14720
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6180
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.56
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$31.3
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.61
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.1
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.82
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.69
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.1
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.3
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.4
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.5
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.21
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.65
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.76
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.34
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.77
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.88
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.18
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.33
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.79
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.04
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.55
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.55
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.7
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.96
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$59.4
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.35
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$33.7
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.03
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$61.1
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.2
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$713
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$22823
$27624

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Beijing

Distance City Cost of living
50 km or 31 mi Langfang
$707
58 km or 36 mi Zhuozhou
$724
58 km or 36 mi Sanhe
$750
78 km or 49 mi Gaobeidian
$634
87 km or 54 mi Bazhou
$634
109 km or 68 mi Tianjin
$646
135 km or 84 mi Renqiu
$565
137 km or 85 mi Zunhua
$660
139 km or 87 mi Baoding
$456
151 km or 94 mi Binhai
$641
155 km or 97 mi Tangshan
$688
163 km or 101 mi Zhangjiakou
$652
164 km or 102 mi Hejian
$558
176 km or 110 mi Chengde
$694
182 km or 113 mi Cangzhou
$638
189 km or 117 mi Huanghua
$619
189 km or 118 mi Anguo
$533
196 km or 122 mi Dingzhou
$574
197 km or 122 mi Qian'an
$616
198 km or 123 mi Luanzhou
$614
204 km or 127 mi Botou
$564
224 km or 139 mi Shenzhou
$505
228 km or 142 mi Xinle
$535
229 km or 142 mi Pingquan
$615
239 km or 148 mi Jinzhou
$527
241 km or 150 mi Xinji
$523
249 km or 155 mi Gaocheng
$527
249 km or 155 mi Hengshui
$454
252 km or 156 mi Laoling
$580
263 km or 164 mi Shijiazhuang
$505
265 km or 165 mi Datong
$748
272 km or 169 mi Jizhou
$499
273 km or 169 mi Qinhuangdao
$558
273 km or 170 mi Dezhou
$480
281 km or 175 mi Fengzhen
$642
282 km or 175 mi Huairen
$654
294 km or 183 mi Lingyuan
$601
296 km or 184 mi Nangong
$550
302 km or 187 mi Ulanqab
$629
314 km or 195 mi Binzhou
$741

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