Dubai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Dubai Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2470
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5467
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$1665
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$2923
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$473
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$186
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4153
$1068
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
66
99
😀 Quality of life
90
76
🏙️ Population
3.94M
24.9M

The cost of living in Dubai is 115% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 947th and 4880th ($2470 vs $1147) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st 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 1.7 months in Dubai compared to 0.9 months in Shanghai. Dubai ranked 1st best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Shanghai ranked 5th in China, while ranked 184th and 1178th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Share this picture

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
$11.9
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$68.6
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.74
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$13.5
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$6.41
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.48
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2083
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1266
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3820
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2306
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$143
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$222
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$92.6
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.56%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7283
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4305
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.63
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$82.5
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.1
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.83
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.85
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.43
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.17
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.62
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.4
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.7
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.62
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.9
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.84
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.97
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.43
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.92
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.94
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$6.13
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.07
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.99
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.4
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.1
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$82.8
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.3
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$75.6
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.3
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$73.7
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$102
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$870
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$17401
$27610

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Dubai

Distance City Cost of living
13 km or 8 mi Sharjah
$1543
22 km or 14 mi Ajman
$2356
41 km or 25 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1170
104 km or 65 mi Fujairah
$1173
108 km or 67 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1355
126 km or 78 mi Al Ain
$1455
129 km or 80 mi Abu Dhabi
$2133
234 km or 146 mi Bandar Abbas
$620
246 km or 153 mi Madinat Zayed
$1791
339 km or 211 mi Seeb
$1082
344 km or 214 mi Nizwa
$797
380 km or 236 mi Doha
$2100
380 km or 236 mi Muscat
$1193
385 km or 239 mi Al Khor
$2015
399 km or 248 mi Jahrom
$494
440 km or 273 mi Fasa
$497
449 km or 279 mi Jiroft
$526
466 km or 290 mi Sirjan
$521
485 km or 301 mi Manama
$1340
486 km or 302 mi Riffa
$1062
487 km or 303 mi Isa Town
$1218
523 km or 325 mi Bam
$514
528 km or 328 mi Dhahran
$965
534 km or 332 mi Chabahar
$530
537 km or 334 mi Dammam
$1059
554 km or 345 mi Shiraz
$505
560 km or 348 mi Qatif
$778
568 km or 353 mi Al-Mubarraz
$821
568 km or 353 mi Marvdasht
$485
574 km or 357 mi Rafsanjan
$558
578 km or 359 mi Iranshahr
$559
584 km or 363 mi Kerman
$700
595 km or 370 mi Jubail
$917
601 km or 373 mi Borazjan
$457
603 km or 375 mi Kazerun
$471
604 km or 375 mi Bushehr
$454
703 km or 437 mi Yasuj
$459
721 km or 448 mi Zahedan
$717
743 km or 461 mi Yazd
$517
773 km or 481 mi Behbahan
$469

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