Busan vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Busan Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1067
$1165
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2884
$3823
🏠 One person rent
$401
$613
🏘️ Family rent
$796
$1694
🍽️ Food expenses
$427
$305
🚐 Transport expenses
$149
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2192
$1458
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
73
100
😀 Quality of life
90
79
🏙️ Population
3.45M
24.9M

The cost of living in Busan is 8% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4704th and 4418th ($1067 vs $1165) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 16th and 6th in South Korea and China, respectively. Check South Korea vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.1 months in Busan compared to 1.3 months in Shanghai. Busan ranked 2nd best city to live in South Korea vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 122nd and 435th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Busan vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Busan vs Shanghai

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

Busan Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$5.58
$5.32
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$27.1
$39
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.02
$5.61
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.09
$1.61
☕ Cappuccino
$3.64
$3.89
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.16
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$376
$845
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$269
$484
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$847
$2670
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$586
$1351
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$89
$41
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$137
$62.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$21.4
$16.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.64%
4.81%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9247
$18653
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9336
$9199
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1
$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$45.3
$32.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$12.3
$5.69
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.28
$1.18
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.15
$2.53
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.85
$2.2
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.44
$1.62
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.07
$2.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.3
$17.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.18
$4.17
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$25.5
$12.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.47
$2.28
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.95
$1.58
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.35
$1.98
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.7
$1.49
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.22
$0.9
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.7
$1.08
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.72
$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.14
$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$10.8
$14.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.81
$0.85
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.45
$3.41
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5
$6.25
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.3
$5.64
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.81
$1.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.48
$1.79
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$41.3
$63.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$9.16
$9.29
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$25
$103
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.68
$12.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$64.9
$67.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$72.6
$76.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$385
$1225
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$21003
$27798

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Busan

Distance City Cost of living
21 km or 13 mi Gimhae
$839
27 km or 16 mi Yangsan
$892
40 km or 25 mi Changwon
$1023
46 km or 28 mi Masan
$940
50 km or 31 mi Geoje
$857
51 km or 32 mi Miryang
$924
56 km or 35 mi Ulsan
$1168
63 km or 39 mi Tongyeong
$878
64 km or 40 mi Sacheon
$812
81 km or 50 mi Tsushima Island
$916
84 km or 52 mi Gyeongsan
$1043
85 km or 53 mi Gyeongju
$1250
87 km or 54 mi Jinju
$822
94 km or 58 mi Daegu
$1211
98 km or 61 mi Yeongcheon
$970
102 km or 64 mi Tsushima
$917
108 km or 67 mi Pohang
$973
123 km or 77 mi Gwangyang
$1006
131 km or 82 mi Yeosu
$1047
138 km or 86 mi Gumi
$900
141 km or 88 mi Gimcheon
$872
142 km or 88 mi Suncheon
$997
154 km or 96 mi Namwon
$928
162 km or 101 mi Iki
$926
165 km or 103 mi Andong
$857
166 km or 103 mi Sangju
$938
183 km or 113 mi Mungyeong
$939
189 km or 118 mi Jeonju
$829
193 km or 120 mi Gwangju
$962
195 km or 121 mi Yeongju
$1003
198 km or 123 mi Hirado
$913
199 km or 124 mi Munakata
$946
199 km or 124 mi Fukutsu
$960
200 km or 124 mi Okagaki
$932
201 km or 125 mi Koga
$971
201 km or 125 mi Shingu
$978
202 km or 125 mi Itoshima
$973
202 km or 126 mi Karatsu
$937
204 km or 127 mi Daejeon
$976
205 km or 127 mi Jeongeup
$932

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1052
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$772
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$820
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$788
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1144
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$688
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$751
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$784
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$785
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$741
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$714
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$728
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$709
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$666
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$810
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$694
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$740
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$719
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$721
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$714
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$827
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$695
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$695
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$612
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$706
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$619
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$701
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$540
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$620
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$642
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$693
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$681
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$687
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$607
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$718
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$722
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$635
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$736