Busan vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Busan Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1088
$1379
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2908
$4064
🏠 One person rent
$403
$768
🏘️ Family rent
$702
$1746
🍽️ Food expenses
$422
$353
🚐 Transport expenses
$170
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2076
$1510
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
75
100
😀 Quality of life
75
78
🏙️ Population
3.45M
24.9M

The cost of living in Busan is 21% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4506th and 3152nd ($1088 vs $1379) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 7th 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 1.9 months in Busan compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. Busan ranked 12th best city to live in South Korea vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 951st and 484th 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
$4.16
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$16.1
$42.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.26
$6.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.22
$3.55
☕ Cappuccino
$4.47
$4.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.37
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$392
$1079
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$279
$611
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$727
$2636
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$512
$1416
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$82
$44.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$127
$67.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$20.1
$18.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.46%
4.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9412
$18451
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9108
$10024
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.04
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$46
$28.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$16.1
$6.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.28
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.95
$3.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.22
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.23
$1.78
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.69
$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.8
$21.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.8
$4.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$26.6
$13.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.71
$2.49
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.15
$1.63
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.58
$2.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.1
$1.88
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.62
$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.01
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.73
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.18
$1.49
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.1
$19.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.91
$0.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.12
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.99
$5.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.3
$5.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.83
$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.5
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$37.6
$75.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.45
$8.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$28.9
$108
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.69
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$69.3
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$74.4
$90.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$429
$1380
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$26496
$27276

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
$904
27 km or 16 mi Yangsan
$916
40 km or 25 mi Changwon
$998
46 km or 28 mi Masan
$967
50 km or 31 mi Geoje
$957
51 km or 32 mi Miryang
$946
56 km or 35 mi Ulsan
$1145
63 km or 39 mi Tongyeong
$919
64 km or 40 mi Sacheon
$877
81 km or 50 mi Tsushima Island
$1048
84 km or 52 mi Gyeongsan
$943
85 km or 53 mi Gyeongju
$1253
87 km or 54 mi Jinju
$839
94 km or 58 mi Daegu
$1000
98 km or 61 mi Yeongcheon
$882
102 km or 64 mi Tsushima
$1049
108 km or 67 mi Pohang
$848
123 km or 77 mi Gwangyang
$971
131 km or 82 mi Yeosu
$965
138 km or 86 mi Gumi
$948
141 km or 88 mi Gimcheon
$846
142 km or 88 mi Suncheon
$941
154 km or 96 mi Namwon
$914
162 km or 101 mi Iki
$1049
165 km or 103 mi Andong
$873
166 km or 103 mi Sangju
$979
183 km or 113 mi Mungyeong
$913
189 km or 118 mi Jeonju
$807
193 km or 120 mi Gwangju
$973
195 km or 121 mi Yeongju
$971
198 km or 123 mi Hirado
$1048
199 km or 124 mi Munakata
$1050
199 km or 124 mi Fukutsu
$1051
200 km or 124 mi Okagaki
$1048
201 km or 125 mi Koga
$1049
201 km or 125 mi Shingu
$1046
202 km or 125 mi Itoshima
$1049
202 km or 126 mi Karatsu
$1048
204 km or 127 mi Daejeon
$982
205 km or 127 mi Jeongeup
$914

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$754
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$667
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$701
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$677
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1099
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$726
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$674
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$693
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$952
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$690
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$852
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$776
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$684
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$680
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$882
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$665
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$726
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$685
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$778
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$683
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$891
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$681
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$673
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$672
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$652
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$662
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$674
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$689
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$674
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$573
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$711
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$666
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$655
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$650
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$681
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$664
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$678
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$729
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$673
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$811