Busan vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Busan Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1122
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3048
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$395
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$821
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$472
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$148
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2421
$1905
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
73
100
😀 Quality of life
89
79
🏙️ Population
3.45M
24.9M

The cost of living in Busan is 1% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4837th and 4780th ($1122 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 13th 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 2.2 months in Busan compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Busan ranked 4th best city to live in South Korea vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 181st and 571st 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
$5.92
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34.7
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.87
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.56
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$4.09
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.86
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$423
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$273
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$902
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$636
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$74.8
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$114
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$17.5
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.21%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8000
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7248
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.15
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$44.1
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$12.3
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.22
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.17
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.21
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.99
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.36
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.9
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.91
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$28.2
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.36
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.31
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.55
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.13
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.43
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.51
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.8
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.14
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.1
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.85
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.38
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.71
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.08
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.72
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.4
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$47.1
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$10.4
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$25.1
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.6
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$92.7
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$87.9
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$557
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$14632
$31401

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
$901
27 km or 16 mi Yangsan
$973
40 km or 25 mi Changwon
$1083
46 km or 28 mi Masan
$1002
50 km or 31 mi Geoje
$893
51 km or 32 mi Miryang
$992
56 km or 35 mi Ulsan
$1099
63 km or 39 mi Tongyeong
$931
64 km or 40 mi Sacheon
$1008
81 km or 50 mi Tsushima Island
$981
84 km or 52 mi Gyeongsan
$1022
85 km or 53 mi Gyeongju
$1341
87 km or 54 mi Jinju
$1146
94 km or 58 mi Daegu
$1114
98 km or 61 mi Yeongcheon
$941
102 km or 64 mi Tsushima
$980
108 km or 67 mi Pohang
$1000
123 km or 77 mi Gwangyang
$999
131 km or 82 mi Yeosu
$981
138 km or 86 mi Gumi
$977
141 km or 88 mi Gimcheon
$995
142 km or 88 mi Suncheon
$1027
154 km or 96 mi Namwon
$1005
162 km or 101 mi Iki
$985
165 km or 103 mi Andong
$871
166 km or 103 mi Sangju
$981
183 km or 113 mi Mungyeong
$992
189 km or 118 mi Jeonju
$915
193 km or 120 mi Gwangju
$1178
195 km or 121 mi Yeongju
$978
198 km or 123 mi Hirado
$968
199 km or 124 mi Munakata
$996
199 km or 124 mi Fukutsu
$1006
200 km or 124 mi Okagaki
$985
201 km or 125 mi Koga
$1015
201 km or 125 mi Shingu
$1020
202 km or 125 mi Itoshima
$1016
202 km or 126 mi Karatsu
$994
204 km or 127 mi Daejeon
$975
205 km or 127 mi Jeongeup
$1000

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1028
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$706
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$749
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$738
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$585
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$661
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$718
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$620
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$676
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$706
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$685
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$612
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$733
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$674
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$742
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$702
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$729
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$674
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$843
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$676
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$690
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$629
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$698
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$630
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$673
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$698
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$650
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$651
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$703
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$708
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$699
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$702
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$771
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$648
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$774