Chennai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chennai Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$433
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1143
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$159
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$379
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$167
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$66
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$868
$1905
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
78
100
😀 Quality of life
66
79
🏙️ Population
6.6M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chennai is 62% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8907th and 4780th ($433 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 20th and 6th in India and China, respectively. Check India vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Chennai compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Chennai ranked 2nd best city to live in India vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 4094th and 571st 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
$1.8
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$10.8
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.79
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.1
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$1.82
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.47
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$187
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$109
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$526
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$282
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$24.9
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$38.2
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$9.96
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.43%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1926
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$804
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.36
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$12
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.59
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.24
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.66
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.56
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.76
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.92
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.7
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.43
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.59
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.83
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.9
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.49
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.47
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.5
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.23
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.05
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.38
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.84
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.33
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$0.85
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.64
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.07
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.6
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$18.4
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.01
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$12
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.49
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$26
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$47.2
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$82.6
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1425
$31401

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
$329
124 km or 77 mi Vellore
$243
125 km or 78 mi Chittoor
$308
138 km or 85 mi Pondicherry
$352
153 km or 95 mi Nellore
$572
159 km or 99 mi Cuddalore
$310
198 km or 123 mi Madanapalle
$337
219 km or 136 mi Kadapa
$380
260 km or 162 mi Proddatur
$367
269 km or 167 mi Ongole
$351
279 km or 173 mi Salem
$330
282 km or 175 mi Thanjavur
$289
290 km or 180 mi Bangalore
$578
304 km or 189 mi Chirala
$321
305 km or 189 mi Tiruchirappalli
$324
312 km or 194 mi Hindupur
$331
328 km or 204 mi Nandyal
$359
338 km or 210 mi Anantapur
$307
339 km or 211 mi Erode
$338
344 km or 214 mi Tumkur
$378
353 km or 219 mi Tenali
$307
354 km or 220 mi Machilipatnam
$324
357 km or 222 mi Guntur
$291
361 km or 224 mi Tiruppur
$306
383 km or 238 mi Vijayawada
$353
388 km or 241 mi Kurnool
$351
396 km or 246 mi Dindigul
$334
402 km or 250 mi Mysore
$325
411 km or 256 mi Eluru
$320
423 km or 263 mi Madurai
$355
428 km or 266 mi Coimbatore
$340
428 km or 266 mi Adoni
$382
453 km or 282 mi Nalgonda
$289
462 km or 287 mi Rajahmundry
$321
463 km or 288 mi Khammam
$274
474 km or 294 mi Mahbubnagar
$373
476 km or 296 mi Kakinada
$312
482 km or 300 mi Hospet
$279
494 km or 307 mi Davanagere
$325
509 km or 317 mi Malappuram
$287

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