Guangzhou vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Guangzhou Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$742
$1190
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2255
$3757
🏠 One person rent
$333
$635
🏘️ Family rent
$834
$1613
🍽️ Food expenses
$262
$308
🚐 Transport expenses
$70.6
$117
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1117
$1455
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
20 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
97
100
😀 Quality of life
75
78
🏙️ Population
18.7M
24.9M

The cost of living in Guangzhou is 38% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6607th and 4461st ($742 vs $1190) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 54th and 6th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Guangzhou compared to 1.2 months in Shanghai. Ranked 6th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 955th vs 558th 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
$4.17
$4.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$27.8
$40.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.84
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.83
$1.7
 Cappuccino
$3.46
$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.44
$0.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$380
$901
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$259
$497
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1120
$2595
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$676
$1269
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$37.2
$39.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$57.2
$60.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$12.5
$17.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.66%
4.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10173
$17366
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4278
$9346
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.28
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$12.5
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.51
$6
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.19
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.01
$2.55
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.87
$2.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$1.47
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.62
$2.21
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.3
$18.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4
$4.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.4
$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$2.27
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.42
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.89
$1.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.81
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.14
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.4
$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.16
$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.9
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.89
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.89
$3.45
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.23
$6.43
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.55
$7.06
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.34
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.47
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$27.3
$69.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.94
$8.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$28.2
$89.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.8
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$43.5
$66.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$73.6
$78.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$423
$1283
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$18235
$28143

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
$575
51 km or 32 mi Dongguan
$589
63 km or 39 mi Jiangmen
$812
65 km or 41 mi Qingyuan
$781
67 km or 42 mi Zhongshan
$481
83 km or 52 mi Zhaoqing
$791
100 km or 62 mi Zhuhai
$618
102 km or 63 mi Kaiping
$816
105 km or 65 mi Shenzhen
$939
111 km or 69 mi Macau
$1565
118 km or 73 mi Huizhou
$837
127 km or 79 mi Yunfu
$830
131 km or 81 mi Kowloon
$2410
132 km or 82 mi Hong Kong
$2614
162 km or 100 mi Heyuan
$891
189 km or 117 mi Shaoguan
$856
194 km or 121 mi Yangjiang
$876
202 km or 126 mi Wuzhou
$824
205 km or 127 mi Lianzhou
$774
216 km or 134 mi Shanwei
$1083
225 km or 140 mi Hezhou
$785
281 km or 175 mi Gaozhou
$831
291 km or 181 mi Maoming
$857
298 km or 185 mi Chenzhou
$752
298 km or 185 mi Puning
$738
319 km or 198 mi Meizhou
$799
321 km or 199 mi Jieyang
$716
323 km or 201 mi Yulin
$806
345 km or 214 mi Ganzhou
$812
349 km or 217 mi Chaozhou
$588
352 km or 219 mi Shantou
$589
364 km or 226 mi Zhanjiang
$777
373 km or 232 mi Guigang
$735
384 km or 239 mi Guilin
$525
406 km or 252 mi Yongzhou
$584
414 km or 257 mi Liuzhou
$596
416 km or 259 mi Laibin
$611
424 km or 264 mi Hengyang
$530
440 km or 273 mi Longyan
$713
460 km or 286 mi Haikou
$620

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