Chennai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Chennai Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$415
$1379
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1096
$4064
🏠 One person rent
$146
$768
🏘️ Family rent
$334
$1746
🍽️ Food expenses
$166
$353
🚐 Transport expenses
$64.2
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$547
$1510
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
77
100
😀 Quality of life
67
78
🏙️ Population
10.3M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chennai is 70% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8755th and 3152nd ($415 vs $1379) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 22nd and 5th in India and China, respectively. Check India vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months in Chennai compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. Chennai ranked 2nd best city to live in India vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 3835th and 484th 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
$1.83
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$12.1
$42.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.82
$6.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.17
$3.55
☕ Cappuccino
$1.63
$4.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.44
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$165
$1079
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$101
$611
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$437
$2636
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$254
$1416
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$22.5
$44.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.3
$67.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$9.49
$18.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
7.86%
4.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1960
$18451
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$701
$10024
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.3
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$12.2
$28.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.15
$6.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.29
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.61
$3.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.5
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.67
$1.78
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.85
$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.67
$21.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.12
$4.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.92
$13.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.42
$2.49
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.77
$1.63
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.34
$2.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.49
$1.88
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.5
$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.45
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.24
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.06
$1.49
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.44
$19.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.81
$0.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.32
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.03
$5.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.21
$5.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.14
$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.88
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$18.3
$75.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$2.4
$8.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$12
$108
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.58
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$27.2
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$45.3
$90.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$70.7
$1380
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1400
$27276

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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
$382
124 km or 77 mi Vellore
$300
125 km or 78 mi Chittoor
$363
138 km or 85 mi Pondicherry
$315
153 km or 95 mi Nellore
$299
159 km or 99 mi Cuddalore
$331
198 km or 123 mi Madanapalle
$331
219 km or 136 mi Kadapa
$337
260 km or 162 mi Proddatur
$329
269 km or 167 mi Ongole
$333
279 km or 173 mi Salem
$357
282 km or 175 mi Thanjavur
$322
290 km or 180 mi Bangalore
$482
304 km or 189 mi Chirala
$329
305 km or 189 mi Tiruchirappalli
$352
312 km or 194 mi Hindupur
$328
328 km or 204 mi Nandyal
$335
338 km or 210 mi Anantapur
$332
339 km or 211 mi Erode
$286
344 km or 214 mi Tumkur
$272
353 km or 219 mi Tenali
$268
354 km or 220 mi Machilipatnam
$275
357 km or 222 mi Guntur
$293
361 km or 224 mi Tiruppur
$293
383 km or 238 mi Vijayawada
$383
388 km or 241 mi Kurnool
$280
396 km or 246 mi Dindigul
$332
402 km or 250 mi Mysore
$329
411 km or 256 mi Eluru
$302
423 km or 263 mi Madurai
$354
428 km or 266 mi Coimbatore
$351
428 km or 266 mi Adoni
$332
453 km or 282 mi Nalgonda
$320
462 km or 287 mi Rajahmundry
$278
463 km or 288 mi Khammam
$253
474 km or 294 mi Mahbubnagar
$332
476 km or 296 mi Kakinada
$334
482 km or 300 mi Hospet
$332
494 km or 307 mi Davanagere
$310
509 km or 317 mi Malappuram
$296

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