Cologne vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Cologne Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1643
$1379
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3959
$4064
🏠 One person rent
$881
$768
🏘️ Family rent
$1574
$1746
🍽️ Food expenses
$416
$353
🚐 Transport expenses
$218
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2585
$1510
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
91
100
😀 Quality of life
96
78
🏙️ Population
1.07M
24.9M

The cost of living in Cologne is 19% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 2459th and 3152nd ($1643 vs $1379) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 10th and 5th in Germany and China, respectively. Check Germany vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Cologne compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. Cologne ranked 2nd best city to live in Germany vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 13th and 484th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Cologne vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Cologne vs Shanghai

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

Cologne Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$12.4
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$49.3
$42.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.31
$6.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.1
$3.55
☕ Cappuccino
$3.11
$4.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.55
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$893
$1079
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$633
$611
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1628
$2636
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1205
$1416
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$164
$44.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$253
$67.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$31.8
$18.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
2.26%
4.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6134
$18451
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4812
$10024
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.22
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$106
$28.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22
$6.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.02
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.17
$3.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.86
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.88
$1.78
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.24
$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.8
$21.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.65
$4.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.9
$13.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.7
$2.49
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$1.63
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.17
$2.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.4
$1.88
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.92
$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.41
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.79
$1.49
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.65
$19.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.84
$0.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$7.8
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.1
$5.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.13
$5.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.56
$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.74
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$35.6
$75.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$11.9
$8.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$50.2
$108
💇 Haircut, simple
$17.5
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$89.1
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$93.6
$90.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$733
$1380
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$12429
$27276

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cologne

Distance City Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Hurth
$1301
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$1665
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1299
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1249
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1303
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1298
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1259
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1303
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1298
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1304
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1304
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1299
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1299
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1305
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1299
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1297
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1301
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1300
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1214
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1300
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1301
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1299
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1517
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1299
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1177
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1301
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1298
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1299
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1301
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1303
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1303
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1184
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1305
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1300
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1303
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1332
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1300
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1303
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1302
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1632

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