Busan vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Busan Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1114
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2827
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$430
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$741
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$443
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$144
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2595
$879
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
72
99
😀 Quality of life
92
75
🏙️ Population
3.45M
24.9M

The cost of living in Busan is 1% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5007th and 4971st ($1114 vs $1126) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 11th and 5th in South Korea and China, respectively. Check South Korea vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.3 months in Busan compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Busan ranked 3rd best city to live in South Korea vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 121st and 1655th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$5.89
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$32.2
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.33
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.24
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$3.77
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.65
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$478
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$269
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$873
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$493
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$95.3
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$148
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$24
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.2%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8921
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7114
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.03
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$49.9
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.6
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.14
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.97
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.59
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.56
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.73
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.37
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$23.1
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.87
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.4
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.57
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.95
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.64
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.81
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.94
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.9
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.94
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.07
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.27
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.7
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.57
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.27
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49.6
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$9.72
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$23
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.96
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$83.9
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.8
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$465
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15370
$27781

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
$946
27 km or 16 mi Yangsan
$1005
40 km or 25 mi Changwon
$1032
46 km or 28 mi Masan
$994
50 km or 31 mi Geoje
$961
51 km or 32 mi Miryang
$991
56 km or 35 mi Ulsan
$1020
63 km or 39 mi Tongyeong
$981
64 km or 40 mi Sacheon
$993
81 km or 50 mi Tsushima Island
$945
84 km or 52 mi Gyeongsan
$976
85 km or 53 mi Gyeongju
$1012
87 km or 54 mi Jinju
$1111
94 km or 58 mi Daegu
$1043
98 km or 61 mi Yeongcheon
$997
102 km or 64 mi Tsushima
$944
108 km or 67 mi Pohang
$1030
123 km or 77 mi Gwangyang
$996
131 km or 82 mi Yeosu
$1008
138 km or 86 mi Gumi
$943
141 km or 88 mi Gimcheon
$916
142 km or 88 mi Suncheon
$1014
154 km or 96 mi Namwon
$970
162 km or 101 mi Iki
$944
165 km or 103 mi Andong
$916
166 km or 103 mi Sangju
$951
183 km or 113 mi Mungyeong
$954
189 km or 118 mi Jeonju
$823
193 km or 120 mi Gwangju
$1062
195 km or 121 mi Yeongju
$994
198 km or 123 mi Hirado
$932
199 km or 124 mi Munakata
$968
199 km or 124 mi Fukutsu
$965
200 km or 124 mi Okagaki
$977
201 km or 125 mi Koga
$955
201 km or 125 mi Shingu
$954
202 km or 125 mi Itoshima
$940
202 km or 126 mi Karatsu
$934
204 km or 127 mi Daejeon
$922
205 km or 127 mi Jeongeup
$963

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