Beijing vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Beijing Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1108
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2811
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$648
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$1139
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$259
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$101
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$769
$1068
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
99
😀 Quality of life
73
76
🏙️ Population
21.9M
24.9M

The cost of living in Beijing is 3% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4987th and 4880th ($1108 vs $1147) 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 0.9 months in Shanghai. Ranked 14th vs 5th best cities to live in China, and 2361st vs 1178th 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
$4.47
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$29.5
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.19
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.17
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$3.27
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.58
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$965
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$510
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1738
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$909
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$32.7
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$50
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$14.5
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.19%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$12536
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6136
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.67
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$31.5
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.6
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.21
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.96
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.76
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.25
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.15
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.3
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.1
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.23
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.87
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.55
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.81
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.86
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.25
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.2
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.94
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.67
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.65
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.95
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.51
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.03
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$54.3
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.12
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$36.2
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.74
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$62.6
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$89.2
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$621
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$25910
$27610

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
$740
58 km or 36 mi Zhuozhou
$764
58 km or 36 mi Sanhe
$800
78 km or 49 mi Gaobeidian
$666
87 km or 54 mi Bazhou
$666
109 km or 68 mi Tianjin
$682
135 km or 84 mi Renqiu
$586
137 km or 85 mi Zunhua
$697
139 km or 87 mi Baoding
$480
151 km or 94 mi Binhai
$672
155 km or 97 mi Tangshan
$720
163 km or 101 mi Zhangjiakou
$680
164 km or 102 mi Hejian
$576
176 km or 110 mi Chengde
$722
182 km or 113 mi Cangzhou
$623
189 km or 117 mi Huanghua
$645
189 km or 118 mi Anguo
$541
196 km or 122 mi Dingzhou
$556
197 km or 122 mi Qian'an
$648
198 km or 123 mi Luanzhou
$645
204 km or 127 mi Botou
$574
224 km or 139 mi Shenzhou
$525
228 km or 142 mi Xinle
$541
229 km or 142 mi Pingquan
$646
239 km or 148 mi Jinzhou
$541
241 km or 150 mi Xinji
$539
249 km or 155 mi Gaocheng
$541
249 km or 155 mi Hengshui
$480
252 km or 156 mi Laoling
$599
263 km or 164 mi Shijiazhuang
$521
265 km or 165 mi Datong
$789
272 km or 169 mi Jizhou
$522
273 km or 169 mi Qinhuangdao
$589
273 km or 170 mi Dezhou
$511
281 km or 175 mi Fengzhen
$676
282 km or 175 mi Huairen
$684
294 km or 183 mi Lingyuan
$634
296 km or 184 mi Nangong
$579
302 km or 187 mi Ulanqab
$665
314 km or 195 mi Binzhou
$759

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1030
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$708
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$726
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$725
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$798
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$643
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$678
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$581
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$652
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$680
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$658
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$571
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$660
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$645
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$670
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$663
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$636
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$659
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$899
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$651
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$664
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$657
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$627
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$667
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$623
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$693
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$691
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$623
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$644
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$661
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$696
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$693
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$620
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$677
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$684
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$644
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$789