Dubai vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Dubai Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2229
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5278
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$1453
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$2877
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$455
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$188
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3926
$1455
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
6 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
64
100
😀 Quality of life
88
78
🏙️ Population
3.33M
24.9M

The cost of living in Dubai is 87% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 1218th and 4461st ($2229 vs $1190) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th 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 1.8 months in Dubai compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. Dubai ranked 1st best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 189th and 558th 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
$9.9
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$72
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.41
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$12.1
$1.7
☕ Cappuccino
$6.06
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.23
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1742
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1101
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3504
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2351
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$131
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$203
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$92.3
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.06%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4930
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2984
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.74
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$84.6
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$11.3
$6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.82
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.93
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.5
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.91
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.44
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.84
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.1
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.21
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.95
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.58
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.02
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.43
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.16
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.2
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.24
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.84
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.93
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.84
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.12
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$4.49
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$81.7
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.6
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$67.5
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.84
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$64.2
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$95.1
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$720
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$14799
$28143

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
$1612
22 km or 14 mi Ajman
$1841
41 km or 25 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1577
104 km or 65 mi Fujairah
$1191
108 km or 67 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1584
126 km or 78 mi Al Ain
$1132
129 km or 80 mi Abu Dhabi
$1936
234 km or 146 mi Bandar Abbas
$758
246 km or 153 mi Madinat Zayed
$1673
339 km or 211 mi Seeb
$1164
344 km or 214 mi Nizwa
$787
380 km or 236 mi Doha
$1872
380 km or 236 mi Muscat
$1126
385 km or 239 mi Al Khor
$1810
399 km or 248 mi Jahrom
$798
440 km or 273 mi Fasa
$890
449 km or 279 mi Jiroft
$573
466 km or 290 mi Sirjan
$604
485 km or 301 mi Manama
$1375
486 km or 302 mi Riffa
$1285
487 km or 303 mi Isa Town
$1327
523 km or 325 mi Bam
$544
528 km or 328 mi Dhahran
$959
534 km or 332 mi Chabahar
$779
537 km or 334 mi Dammam
$1005
554 km or 345 mi Shiraz
$606
560 km or 348 mi Qatif
$868
568 km or 353 mi Al-Mubarraz
$768
568 km or 353 mi Marvdasht
$604
574 km or 357 mi Rafsanjan
$530
578 km or 359 mi Iranshahr
$672
584 km or 363 mi Kerman
$457
595 km or 370 mi Jubail
$910
601 km or 373 mi Borazjan
$621
603 km or 375 mi Kazerun
$606
604 km or 375 mi Bushehr
$646
703 km or 437 mi Yasuj
$561
721 km or 448 mi Zahedan
$822
743 km or 461 mi Yazd
$575
773 km or 481 mi Behbahan
$541

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1074
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$731
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$771
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$763
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$682
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$731
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$651
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$678
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$687
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$699
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$688
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$690
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$677
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$675
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$755
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$707
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$713
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$682
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$831
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$679
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$694
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$625
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$707
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$703
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$524
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$631
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$645
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$720
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$725
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$696
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$719
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$789
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$652
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$740