Chennai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Chennai Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$430
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1055
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$151
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$259
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$165
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$65.7
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$320
$879
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
79
99
😀 Quality of life
66
75
🏙️ Population
6.6M
24.9M

The cost of living in Chennai is 62% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8922nd and 4971st ($430 vs $1126) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 16th 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 4th best city to live in India vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 5162nd and 1655th 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
$2.2
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$12.9
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.45
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.73
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$1.85
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.48
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$166
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$105
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$304
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$188
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$26.1
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$40.2
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$7.84
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.84%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1789
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$726
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.33
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$11.1
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.16
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.59
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.5
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.71
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.85
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.24
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.5
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.39
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.94
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.91
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.49
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.48
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.43
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.22
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.06
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$7.74
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.78
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.77
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$0.79
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.35
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.99
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.78
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$15.2
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$2.78
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$30.9
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.65
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$26.8
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$44.5
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$75
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1717
$27781

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
$322
124 km or 77 mi Vellore
$236
125 km or 78 mi Chittoor
$300
138 km or 85 mi Pondicherry
$327
153 km or 95 mi Nellore
$533
159 km or 99 mi Cuddalore
$306
198 km or 123 mi Madanapalle
$334
219 km or 136 mi Kadapa
$367
260 km or 162 mi Proddatur
$359
269 km or 167 mi Ongole
$334
279 km or 173 mi Salem
$297
282 km or 175 mi Thanjavur
$285
290 km or 180 mi Bangalore
$523
304 km or 189 mi Chirala
$306
305 km or 189 mi Tiruchirappalli
$303
312 km or 194 mi Hindupur
$347
328 km or 204 mi Nandyal
$341
338 km or 210 mi Anantapur
$346
339 km or 211 mi Erode
$285
344 km or 214 mi Tumkur
$332
353 km or 219 mi Tenali
$287
354 km or 220 mi Machilipatnam
$315
357 km or 222 mi Guntur
$276
361 km or 224 mi Tiruppur
$344
383 km or 238 mi Vijayawada
$346
388 km or 241 mi Kurnool
$338
396 km or 246 mi Dindigul
$299
402 km or 250 mi Mysore
$349
411 km or 256 mi Eluru
$292
423 km or 263 mi Madurai
$348
428 km or 266 mi Coimbatore
$331
428 km or 266 mi Adoni
$376
453 km or 282 mi Nalgonda
$266
462 km or 287 mi Rajahmundry
$295
463 km or 288 mi Khammam
$264
474 km or 294 mi Mahbubnagar
$343
476 km or 296 mi Kakinada
$291
482 km or 300 mi Hospet
$262
494 km or 307 mi Davanagere
$282
509 km or 317 mi Malappuram
$271

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765