Beijing vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Beijing Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1044
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2705
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$596
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$1053
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$250
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$102
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$711
$879
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
99
😀 Quality of life
73
75
🏙️ Population
21.9M
24.9M

The cost of living in Beijing is 7% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5341st and 4971st ($1044 vs $1126) 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 0.7 months in Beijing compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Ranked 11th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 2718th vs 1655th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$4.36
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$26.1
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.05
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.02
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$3.03
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.57
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$861
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$471
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1589
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$839
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$32.4
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$50.2
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13.9
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.39%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$12544
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6280
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.58
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$33.4
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.68
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.1
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.95
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.81
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.89
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.7
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.38
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.2
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.22
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.82
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.91
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.21
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$9.65
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.86
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.61
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.71
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.63
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.73
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.02
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$63.8
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$34.7
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.08
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$59
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$81.3
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$725
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$25165
$27781

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
$716
58 km or 36 mi Zhuozhou
$734
58 km or 36 mi Sanhe
$767
78 km or 49 mi Gaobeidian
$645
87 km or 54 mi Bazhou
$646
109 km or 68 mi Tianjin
$663
135 km or 84 mi Renqiu
$572
137 km or 85 mi Zunhua
$673
139 km or 87 mi Baoding
$468
151 km or 94 mi Binhai
$656
155 km or 97 mi Tangshan
$697
163 km or 101 mi Zhangjiakou
$657
164 km or 102 mi Hejian
$562
176 km or 110 mi Chengde
$709
182 km or 113 mi Cangzhou
$621
189 km or 117 mi Huanghua
$630
189 km or 118 mi Anguo
$528
196 km or 122 mi Dingzhou
$558
197 km or 122 mi Qian'an
$632
198 km or 123 mi Luanzhou
$626
204 km or 127 mi Botou
$564
224 km or 139 mi Shenzhou
$512
228 km or 142 mi Xinle
$524
229 km or 142 mi Pingquan
$629
239 km or 148 mi Jinzhou
$521
241 km or 150 mi Xinji
$525
249 km or 155 mi Gaocheng
$519
249 km or 155 mi Hengshui
$466
252 km or 156 mi Laoling
$584
263 km or 164 mi Shijiazhuang
$493
265 km or 165 mi Datong
$770
272 km or 169 mi Jizhou
$508
273 km or 169 mi Qinhuangdao
$574
273 km or 170 mi Dezhou
$492
281 km or 175 mi Fengzhen
$655
282 km or 175 mi Huairen
$666
294 km or 183 mi Lingyuan
$618
296 km or 184 mi Nangong
$562
302 km or 187 mi Ulanqab
$640
314 km or 195 mi Binzhou
$748

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765