Chennai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chennai Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$409
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1006
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$142
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$243
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$156
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$67
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$254
$1068
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
79
99
😀 Quality of life
65
76
🏙️ Population
6.6M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chennai is 64% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8947th and 4880th ($409 vs $1147) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 15th and 5th in India and China, respectively. Check India vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Chennai compared to 0.9 months in Shanghai. Chennai ranked 2nd best city to live in India vs Shanghai ranked 5th in China, while ranked 5131st and 1178th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$2.12
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$10.9
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.18
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.57
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$1.59
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.41
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$160
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$97.5
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$282
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$178
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$24
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$36.6
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$7.79
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.78%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1739
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$712
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.31
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$10.6
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.75
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.06
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.54
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.5
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.72
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.85
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.58
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.18
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.29
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.94
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.85
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.37
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.46
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.46
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.43
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.2
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.01
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$7.82
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.79
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.37
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$0.75
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.25
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.94
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.73
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$15.6
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$2.6
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29.9
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.53
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$23
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$37.6
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$71.7
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1792
$27610

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
$306
124 km or 77 mi Vellore
$232
125 km or 78 mi Chittoor
$302
138 km or 85 mi Pondicherry
$322
153 km or 95 mi Nellore
$508
159 km or 99 mi Cuddalore
$294
198 km or 123 mi Madanapalle
$320
219 km or 136 mi Kadapa
$348
260 km or 162 mi Proddatur
$339
269 km or 167 mi Ongole
$317
279 km or 173 mi Salem
$283
282 km or 175 mi Thanjavur
$275
290 km or 180 mi Bangalore
$507
304 km or 189 mi Chirala
$290
305 km or 189 mi Tiruchirappalli
$297
312 km or 194 mi Hindupur
$339
328 km or 204 mi Nandyal
$325
338 km or 210 mi Anantapur
$331
339 km or 211 mi Erode
$274
344 km or 214 mi Tumkur
$303
353 km or 219 mi Tenali
$273
354 km or 220 mi Machilipatnam
$292
357 km or 222 mi Guntur
$265
361 km or 224 mi Tiruppur
$330
383 km or 238 mi Vijayawada
$328
388 km or 241 mi Kurnool
$317
396 km or 246 mi Dindigul
$290
402 km or 250 mi Mysore
$332
411 km or 256 mi Eluru
$280
423 km or 263 mi Madurai
$342
428 km or 266 mi Coimbatore
$313
428 km or 266 mi Adoni
$359
453 km or 282 mi Nalgonda
$255
462 km or 287 mi Rajahmundry
$281
463 km or 288 mi Khammam
$247
474 km or 294 mi Mahbubnagar
$327
476 km or 296 mi Kakinada
$271
482 km or 300 mi Hospet
$250
494 km or 307 mi Davanagere
$264
509 km or 317 mi Malappuram
$259

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1030
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$708
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$726
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$725
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$798
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$643
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$678
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$581
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$652
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$680
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$658
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$571
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$660
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$645
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$670
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$663
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$636
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$659
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$899
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$651
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$664
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$657
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$627
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$667
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$623
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$693
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$691
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$623
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$644
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$661
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$696
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$693
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$620
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$677
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$684
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$644
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$789