Chennai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chennai Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$437
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1065
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$159
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$272
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$164
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$64.2
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$321
$931
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
78
100
😀 Quality of life
65
77
🏙️ Population
6.6M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chennai is 61% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8898th and 4879th ($437 vs $1128) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 17th and 5th in India and China, respectively. Check India vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Chennai compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Chennai ranked 5th best city to live in India vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 5272nd and 1383rd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Chennai vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Chennai vs Shanghai

Prices for goods and services in Chennai and Shanghai are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Chennai Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$2.25
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$11.1
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$3.91
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.97
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$1.95
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.47
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$173
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$108
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$313
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$194
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$29.5
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$44.9
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$8.96
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.55%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1914
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$746
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.34
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$11.3
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.73
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.16
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.59
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.49
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.73
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.87
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.55
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.48
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.62
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.96
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.89
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.42
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.49
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.47
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.22
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.15
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$9.05
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.94
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.82
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$0.8
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.47
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.78
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$15.4
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$2.79
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$31.9
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.7
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$25.8
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$50.4
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$70.8
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1729
$27624

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chennai

Distance City Cost of living
111 km or 69 mi Tirupati
$327
124 km or 77 mi Vellore
$235
125 km or 78 mi Chittoor
$291
138 km or 85 mi Pondicherry
$327
153 km or 95 mi Nellore
$535
159 km or 99 mi Cuddalore
$300
198 km or 123 mi Madanapalle
$327
219 km or 136 mi Kadapa
$368
260 km or 162 mi Proddatur
$367
269 km or 167 mi Ongole
$334
279 km or 173 mi Salem
$295
282 km or 175 mi Thanjavur
$275
290 km or 180 mi Bangalore
$524
304 km or 189 mi Chirala
$304
305 km or 189 mi Tiruchirappalli
$300
312 km or 194 mi Hindupur
$341
328 km or 204 mi Nandyal
$347
338 km or 210 mi Anantapur
$345
339 km or 211 mi Erode
$286
344 km or 214 mi Tumkur
$355
353 km or 219 mi Tenali
$290
354 km or 220 mi Machilipatnam
$307
357 km or 222 mi Guntur
$277
361 km or 224 mi Tiruppur
$347
383 km or 238 mi Vijayawada
$339
388 km or 241 mi Kurnool
$345
396 km or 246 mi Dindigul
$310
402 km or 250 mi Mysore
$346
411 km or 256 mi Eluru
$298
423 km or 263 mi Madurai
$347
428 km or 266 mi Coimbatore
$326
428 km or 266 mi Adoni
$383
453 km or 282 mi Nalgonda
$266
462 km or 287 mi Rajahmundry
$301
463 km or 288 mi Khammam
$265
474 km or 294 mi Mahbubnagar
$353
476 km or 296 mi Kakinada
$291
482 km or 300 mi Hospet
$266
494 km or 307 mi Davanagere
$295
509 km or 317 mi Malappuram
$286

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