Dubai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Dubai Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1924
$1379
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4530
$4064
🏠 One person rent
$1170
$768
🏘️ Family rent
$2204
$1746
🍽️ Food expenses
$437
$353
🚐 Transport expenses
$183
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4381
$1510
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
6 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
61
100
😀 Quality of life
90
78
🏙️ Population
3.33M
24.9M

The cost of living in Dubai is 40% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 1903rd and 3152nd ($1924 vs $1379) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 5th in the United Arab Emirates and China, respectively. Check the United Arab Emirates vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.3 months in Dubai compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. Dubai ranked 1st best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 130th 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 Dubai vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Dubai vs Shanghai

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

Dubai Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$10.4
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$65.8
$42.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$8.19
$6.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$12.7
$3.55
☕ Cappuccino
$5.46
$4.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.13
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1453
$1079
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$829
$611
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2679
$2636
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1737
$1416
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$119
$44.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$181
$67.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$97.6
$18.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.93%
4.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3907
$18451
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2398
$10024
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.5
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$85.9
$28.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.86
$6.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.99
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.88
$3.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.29
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.56
$1.78
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.74
$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.1
$21.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.22
$4.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.6
$13.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.17
$2.49
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.85
$1.63
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$2.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.56
$1.88
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.11
$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.99
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.4
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.32
$1.49
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16.2
$19.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.53
$0.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.58
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.07
$5.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.34
$5.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.28
$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$4.28
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$72.1
$75.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.2
$8.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$74.3
$108
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.63
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$62.7
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$91.8
$90.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$756
$1380
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11590
$27276

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Dubai

Distance City Cost of living
13 km or 8 mi Sharjah
$1343
22 km or 14 mi Ajman
$1129
41 km or 25 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1020
104 km or 65 mi Fujairah
$1096
108 km or 67 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1362
126 km or 78 mi Al Ain
$1449
129 km or 80 mi Abu Dhabi
$1967
234 km or 146 mi Bandar Abbas
$707
246 km or 153 mi Madinat Zayed
$1261
339 km or 211 mi Seeb
$1260
344 km or 214 mi Nizwa
$799
380 km or 236 mi Doha
$1964
380 km or 236 mi Muscat
$1150
385 km or 239 mi Al Khor
$1797
399 km or 248 mi Jahrom
$688
440 km or 273 mi Fasa
$968
449 km or 279 mi Jiroft
$689
466 km or 290 mi Sirjan
$693
485 km or 301 mi Manama
$1277
486 km or 302 mi Riffa
$1245
487 km or 303 mi Isa Town
$1277
523 km or 325 mi Bam
$688
528 km or 328 mi Dhahran
$952
534 km or 332 mi Chabahar
$687
537 km or 334 mi Dammam
$987
554 km or 345 mi Shiraz
$947
560 km or 348 mi Qatif
$880
568 km or 353 mi Al-Mubarraz
$705
568 km or 353 mi Marvdasht
$690
574 km or 357 mi Rafsanjan
$691
578 km or 359 mi Iranshahr
$687
584 km or 363 mi Kerman
$657
595 km or 370 mi Jubail
$907
601 km or 373 mi Borazjan
$686
603 km or 375 mi Kazerun
$687
604 km or 375 mi Bushehr
$785
703 km or 437 mi Yasuj
$650
721 km or 448 mi Zahedan
$863
743 km or 461 mi Yazd
$837
773 km or 481 mi Behbahan
$686

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