Bucharest vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Bucharest Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$961
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2436
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$449
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$782
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$333
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$70.7
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1072
$1455
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
76
100
😀 Quality of life
77
78
🏙️ Population
1.72M
24.9M

The cost of living in Bucharest is 19% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5593rd and 4461st ($961 vs $1190) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 6th in Romania and China, respectively. Check Romania vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.1 months in Bucharest compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. Bucharest ranked 1st best city to live in Romania vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 703rd and 558th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Bucharest vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Bucharest vs Shanghai

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

Bucharest Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.66
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$44.5
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$7.31
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.68
$1.7
☕ Cappuccino
$2.94
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.04
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$464
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$318
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$863
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$587
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$92.7
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$131
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$8.75
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
7.17%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2654
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1649
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.65
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$19.2
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.86
$6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.51
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.66
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.98
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.19
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.05
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.28
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.9
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.63
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.84
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.97
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.02
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.51
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.03
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.32
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.03
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.39
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.97
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.19
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.62
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.57
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$43.6
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.54
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$54.9
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.5
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$73.9
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$81.2
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$503
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9569
$28143

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Bucharest

Distance City Cost of living
13 km or 8.3 mi Voluntari
$846
56 km or 35 mi Giurgiu
$817
60 km or 37 mi Ploiesti
$868
62 km or 39 mi Ruse
$619
77 km or 48 mi Targoviste
$702
77 km or 48 mi Alexandria
$681
102 km or 63 mi Buzau
$758
102 km or 63 mi Calarasi
$701
103 km or 64 mi Slobozia
$739
108 km or 67 mi Pitesti
$758
137 km or 85 mi Slatina
$610
143 km or 89 mi Shumen
$611
144 km or 90 mi Brasov
$928
151 km or 94 mi Veliko Tarnovo
$654
156 km or 97 mi Ramnicu Valcea
$595
161 km or 100 mi Pleven
$719
164 km or 102 mi Sfantu Gheorghe
$718
168 km or 104 mi Dobrich
$646
168 km or 105 mi Focsani
$748
177 km or 110 mi Braila
$639
180 km or 112 mi Craiova
$813
181 km or 112 mi Gabrovo
$495
192 km or 119 mi Galati
$743
192 km or 119 mi Sliven
$616
198 km or 123 mi Varna
$851
203 km or 126 mi Mamaia
$898
205 km or 127 mi Constanta
$962
216 km or 134 mi Yambol
$563
217 km or 135 mi Sibiu
$800
223 km or 138 mi Stara Zagora
$641
232 km or 144 mi Tulcea
$746
233 km or 145 mi Targu Jiu
$702
236 km or 146 mi Cahul
$812
237 km or 147 mi Barlad
$730
238 km or 148 mi Medias
$561
239 km or 148 mi Burgas
$508
243 km or 151 mi Vratsa
$865
251 km or 156 mi Bacau
$670
260 km or 161 mi Vidin
$661
267 km or 166 mi Targu Mures
$678

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1074
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$731
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$771
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$763
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$682
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$731
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$651
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$678
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$687
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$699
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$688
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$690
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$677
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$675
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$755
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$707
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$713
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$682
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$831
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$679
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$694
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$625
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$707
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$703
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$524
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$631
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$645
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$720
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$725
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$696
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$719
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$789
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$652
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$740