Busan vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Busan Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1108
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2784
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$427
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$724
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$440
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$144
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2577
$931
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
72
100
😀 Quality of life
92
77
🏙️ Population
3.45M
24.9M

The cost of living in Busan is 2% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4938th and 4879th ($1108 vs $1128) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 15th 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 4th best city to live in South Korea vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 150th and 1383rd 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
$6.02
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$28.2
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.67
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.25
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$3.89
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.87
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$414
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$278
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$752
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$499
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$97.5
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$150
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$24.7
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.23%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8888
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7037
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.09
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$49.9
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.6
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.14
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.99
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.72
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.58
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.92
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.7
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.15
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$26.1
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.92
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.17
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.25
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.68
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.28
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.19
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.79
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.98
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.9
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.7
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.07
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.34
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.74
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.61
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.3
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$48.3
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$9.66
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$23
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.83
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$85.9
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$71.6
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$470
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$13429
$27624

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
$975
27 km or 16 mi Yangsan
$1039
40 km or 25 mi Changwon
$1084
46 km or 28 mi Masan
$1008
50 km or 31 mi Geoje
$913
51 km or 32 mi Miryang
$1038
56 km or 35 mi Ulsan
$1076
63 km or 39 mi Tongyeong
$934
64 km or 40 mi Sacheon
$984
81 km or 50 mi Tsushima Island
$937
84 km or 52 mi Gyeongsan
$1001
85 km or 53 mi Gyeongju
$1097
87 km or 54 mi Jinju
$1064
94 km or 58 mi Daegu
$1062
98 km or 61 mi Yeongcheon
$1008
102 km or 64 mi Tsushima
$933
108 km or 67 mi Pohang
$1024
123 km or 77 mi Gwangyang
$991
131 km or 82 mi Yeosu
$994
138 km or 86 mi Gumi
$949
141 km or 88 mi Gimcheon
$934
142 km or 88 mi Suncheon
$1016
154 km or 96 mi Namwon
$980
162 km or 101 mi Iki
$925
165 km or 103 mi Andong
$929
166 km or 103 mi Sangju
$957
183 km or 113 mi Mungyeong
$973
189 km or 118 mi Jeonju
$831
193 km or 120 mi Gwangju
$1081
195 km or 121 mi Yeongju
$1005
198 km or 123 mi Hirado
$908
199 km or 124 mi Munakata
$950
199 km or 124 mi Fukutsu
$942
200 km or 124 mi Okagaki
$955
201 km or 125 mi Koga
$939
201 km or 125 mi Shingu
$936
202 km or 125 mi Itoshima
$923
202 km or 126 mi Karatsu
$913
204 km or 127 mi Daejeon
$959
205 km or 127 mi Jeongeup
$981

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1003
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$673
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$696
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$771
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$597
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$612
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$632
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$547
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$648
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$679
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$631
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$634
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$576
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$713
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$621
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$740
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$674
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$601
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$630
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$826
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$622
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$634
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$639
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$597
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$642
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$597
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$664
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$531
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$602
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$618
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$637
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$672
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$663
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$590
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$666
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$659
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$617
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$753