Guangzhou vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Guangzhou Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$763
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2294
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$333
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$850
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$279
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$76.2
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1294
$1905
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
20 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
97
100
😀 Quality of life
75
79
🏙️ Population
18.7M
24.9M

The cost of living in Guangzhou is 33% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6602nd and 4780th ($763 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 49th and 6th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Guangzhou compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Ranked 6th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 1036th vs 571st among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Guangzhou vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Guangzhou vs Shanghai

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

Guangzhou Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.58
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$25.8
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.95
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.86
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$3.43
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.49
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$457
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$236
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1125
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$688
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$39.8
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$61.3
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.41%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10222
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4345
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.29
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$15.8
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.63
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.2
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.94
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.65
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.7
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.15
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.26
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.88
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.18
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.43
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.19
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$25.1
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.89
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.15
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.36
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.76
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.38
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.49
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$26.4
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.06
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$28.9
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.52
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$35.2
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$69.9
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$439
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15919
$31401

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Guangzhou

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Foshan
$602
51 km or 32 mi Dongguan
$678
63 km or 39 mi Jiangmen
$830
65 km or 41 mi Qingyuan
$808
67 km or 42 mi Zhongshan
$491
83 km or 52 mi Zhaoqing
$806
100 km or 62 mi Zhuhai
$641
102 km or 63 mi Kaiping
$824
105 km or 65 mi Shenzhen
$958
111 km or 69 mi Macau
$1590
118 km or 73 mi Huizhou
$629
127 km or 79 mi Yunfu
$839
131 km or 81 mi Kowloon
$2427
132 km or 82 mi Hong Kong
$2753
162 km or 100 mi Heyuan
$801
189 km or 117 mi Shaoguan
$852
194 km or 121 mi Yangjiang
$895
202 km or 126 mi Wuzhou
$819
205 km or 127 mi Lianzhou
$783
216 km or 134 mi Shanwei
$1014
225 km or 140 mi Hezhou
$780
281 km or 175 mi Gaozhou
$774
291 km or 181 mi Maoming
$774
298 km or 185 mi Chenzhou
$746
298 km or 185 mi Puning
$726
319 km or 198 mi Meizhou
$795
321 km or 199 mi Jieyang
$691
323 km or 201 mi Yulin
$794
345 km or 214 mi Ganzhou
$813
349 km or 217 mi Chaozhou
$592
352 km or 219 mi Shantou
$605
364 km or 226 mi Zhanjiang
$781
373 km or 232 mi Guigang
$725
384 km or 239 mi Guilin
$538
406 km or 252 mi Yongzhou
$618
414 km or 257 mi Liuzhou
$607
416 km or 259 mi Laibin
$623
424 km or 264 mi Hengyang
$611
440 km or 273 mi Longyan
$713
460 km or 286 mi Haikou
$671

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1028
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$706
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$749
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$738
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$585
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$661
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$718
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$620
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$676
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$706
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$685
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$612
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$733
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$674
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$742
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$702
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$729
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$674
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$843
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$676
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$690
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$629
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$698
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$630
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$673
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$698
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$650
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$651
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$703
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$708
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$699
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$702
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$771
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$648
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$774