Busan vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Busan Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1029
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2852
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$380
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$849
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$419
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$141
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2548
$1455
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
73
100
😀 Quality of life
91
78
🏙️ Population
3.45M
24.9M

The cost of living in Busan is 14% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5114th and 4461st ($1029 vs $1190) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 39th 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 2.5 months in Busan compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. Busan ranked 4th best city to live in South Korea vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 108th and 558th 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
$5.65
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$27.5
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.34
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3
$1.7
 Cappuccino
$3.66
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.36
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$366
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$251
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$869
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$654
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$87
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$134
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$19.2
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.47%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8493
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7560
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.01
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$44.1
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$11.1
$6
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.23
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.98
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.87
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.18
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.6
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.52
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$30
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.54
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.96
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.76
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.47
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.27
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.18
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.63
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.1
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.4
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.72
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.34
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.69
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.02
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.73
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.39
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$41.3
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.92
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$25
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.84
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$69.8
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$70.2
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$528
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$13891
$28143

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
$907
27 km or 16 mi Yangsan
$963
40 km or 25 mi Changwon
$1073
46 km or 28 mi Masan
$1006
50 km or 31 mi Geoje
$882
51 km or 32 mi Miryang
$973
56 km or 35 mi Ulsan
$1078
63 km or 39 mi Tongyeong
$910
64 km or 40 mi Sacheon
$953
81 km or 50 mi Tsushima Island
$895
84 km or 52 mi Gyeongsan
$1035
85 km or 53 mi Gyeongju
$1326
87 km or 54 mi Jinju
$878
94 km or 58 mi Daegu
$1113
98 km or 61 mi Yeongcheon
$1039
102 km or 64 mi Tsushima
$896
108 km or 67 mi Pohang
$989
123 km or 77 mi Gwangyang
$965
131 km or 82 mi Yeosu
$984
138 km or 86 mi Gumi
$1055
141 km or 88 mi Gimcheon
$1076
142 km or 88 mi Suncheon
$991
154 km or 96 mi Namwon
$960
162 km or 101 mi Iki
$903
165 km or 103 mi Andong
$865
166 km or 103 mi Sangju
$1060
183 km or 113 mi Mungyeong
$999
189 km or 118 mi Jeonju
$787
193 km or 120 mi Gwangju
$1147
195 km or 121 mi Yeongju
$958
198 km or 123 mi Hirado
$907
199 km or 124 mi Munakata
$902
199 km or 124 mi Fukutsu
$910
200 km or 124 mi Okagaki
$897
201 km or 125 mi Koga
$914
201 km or 125 mi Shingu
$917
202 km or 125 mi Itoshima
$914
202 km or 126 mi Karatsu
$905
204 km or 127 mi Daejeon
$924
205 km or 127 mi Jeongeup
$955

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1074
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$731
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$771
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$763
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$682
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$731
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$651
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$678
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$687
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$699
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$688
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$690
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$677
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$675
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$755
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$707
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$713
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$682
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$831
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$679
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$694
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$625
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$707
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$703
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$524
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$631
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$645
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$720
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$725
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$696
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$719
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$789
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$652
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$740