Busan vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Busan Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1060
$1097
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2838
$3454
🏠 One person rent
$390
$577
🏘️ Family rent
$797
$1404
🍽️ Food expenses
$436
$287
🚐 Transport expenses
$135
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2181
$1644
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
72
100
😀 Quality of life
89
78
🏙️ Population
3.45M
24.9M

The cost of living in Busan is 3% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5092nd and 4858th ($1060 vs $1097) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 30th 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 1.5 months in Shanghai. Busan ranked 4th best city to live in South Korea vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 201st and 675th 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
$5.69
$4.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$28
$39.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.51
$5.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.28
$1.45
 Cappuccino
$3.79
$3.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.8
$0.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$392
$823
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$248
$455
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$825
$2226
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$584
$1115
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$92.3
$33.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$143
$51.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$20.7
$14.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.26%
3.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7716
$14361
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7051
$8086
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.09
$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$40.2
$34.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$11.2
$5.85
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.12
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.05
$2.2
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.95
$1.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.46
$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.1
$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.6
$15.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.19
$3.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$26.4
$10.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.81
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.06
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.97
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.64
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.35
$0.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.2
$1.12
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.75
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.98
$1.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13
$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.7
$0.84
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.11
$3.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.4
$6.38
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.79
$6.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.58
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.3
$2.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$43.7
$55.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$9.64
$8.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$23
$87.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.84
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$85.9
$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$80.7
$75.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$470
$1181
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$13395
$30174

Cost of living in other countries

BusanShanghai

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Busan

Distance City Cost of living
21 km or 13 mi Gimhae
$959
27 km or 16 mi Yangsan
$1027
40 km or 25 mi Changwon
$1075
46 km or 28 mi Masan
$998
50 km or 31 mi Geoje
$887
51 km or 32 mi Miryang
$1030
56 km or 35 mi Ulsan
$1059
63 km or 39 mi Tongyeong
$924
64 km or 40 mi Sacheon
$983
81 km or 50 mi Tsushima Island
$901
84 km or 52 mi Gyeongsan
$991
85 km or 53 mi Gyeongju
$1388
87 km or 54 mi Jinju
$1054
94 km or 58 mi Daegu
$995
98 km or 61 mi Yeongcheon
$1115
102 km or 64 mi Tsushima
$903
108 km or 67 mi Pohang
$988
123 km or 77 mi Gwangyang
$1002
131 km or 82 mi Yeosu
$989
138 km or 86 mi Gumi
$992
141 km or 88 mi Gimcheon
$977
142 km or 88 mi Suncheon
$1059
154 km or 96 mi Namwon
$987
162 km or 101 mi Iki
$902
165 km or 103 mi Andong
$880
166 km or 103 mi Sangju
$1000
183 km or 113 mi Mungyeong
$979
189 km or 118 mi Jeonju
$854
193 km or 120 mi Gwangju
$1101
195 km or 121 mi Yeongju
$964
198 km or 123 mi Hirado
$891
199 km or 124 mi Munakata
$916
199 km or 124 mi Fukutsu
$916
200 km or 124 mi Okagaki
$913
201 km or 125 mi Koga
$921
201 km or 125 mi Shingu
$919
202 km or 125 mi Itoshima
$910
202 km or 126 mi Karatsu
$895
204 km or 127 mi Daejeon
$992
205 km or 127 mi Jeongeup
$970

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$984
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$665
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$700
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$868
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$573
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$631
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$645
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$602
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$640
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$670
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$670
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$657
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$590
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$708
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$643
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$716
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$695
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$702
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$644
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$805
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$643
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$654
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$603
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$650
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$607
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$644
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$665
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$522
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$620
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$621
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$642
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$677
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$665
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$592
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$672
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$621
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$746