Guangzhou vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Guangzhou Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$758
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1996
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$322
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$570
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$267
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$89.1
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$792
$931
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
20 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
97
100
😀 Quality of life
75
77
🏙️ Population
18.7M
24.9M

The cost of living in Guangzhou is 33% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6838th and 4879th ($758 vs $1128) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 36th and 5th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in Guangzhou compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Ranked 6th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 2100th vs 1383rd 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
$2.82
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$28
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.46
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.07
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$3.08
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.48
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$472
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$222
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$862
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$410
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$36.4
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$56.4
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13.1
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.97%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9090
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3370
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.42
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$24
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.76
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.18
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.94
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.16
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.22
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.54
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.7
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.7
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.13
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.14
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.51
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.91
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.15
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.44
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.29
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.34
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.03
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.85
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.35
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.52
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.17
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.68
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$52.5
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.25
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.51
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$38.4
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$70.3
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$349
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$14783
$27624

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
$589
51 km or 32 mi Dongguan
$662
63 km or 39 mi Jiangmen
$829
65 km or 41 mi Qingyuan
$777
67 km or 42 mi Zhongshan
$518
83 km or 52 mi Zhaoqing
$794
100 km or 62 mi Zhuhai
$662
102 km or 63 mi Kaiping
$827
105 km or 65 mi Shenzhen
$878
111 km or 69 mi Macau
$1746
118 km or 73 mi Huizhou
$608
127 km or 79 mi Yunfu
$816
131 km or 81 mi Kowloon
$2414
132 km or 82 mi Hong Kong
$2718
162 km or 100 mi Heyuan
$766
189 km or 117 mi Shaoguan
$818
194 km or 121 mi Yangjiang
$892
202 km or 126 mi Wuzhou
$809
205 km or 127 mi Lianzhou
$765
216 km or 134 mi Shanwei
$941
225 km or 140 mi Hezhou
$766
281 km or 175 mi Gaozhou
$780
291 km or 181 mi Maoming
$773
298 km or 185 mi Chenzhou
$750
298 km or 185 mi Puning
$579
319 km or 198 mi Meizhou
$669
321 km or 199 mi Jieyang
$451
323 km or 201 mi Yulin
$726
345 km or 214 mi Ganzhou
$897
349 km or 217 mi Chaozhou
$454
352 km or 219 mi Shantou
$589
364 km or 226 mi Zhanjiang
$790
373 km or 232 mi Guigang
$693
384 km or 239 mi Guilin
$546
406 km or 252 mi Yongzhou
$634
414 km or 257 mi Liuzhou
$574
416 km or 259 mi Laibin
$598
424 km or 264 mi Hengyang
$622
440 km or 273 mi Longyan
$697
460 km or 286 mi Haikou
$677

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1003
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$673
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$696
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$771
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$597
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$612
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$632
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$547
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$648
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$679
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$631
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$634
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$576
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$713
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$621
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$740
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$674
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$601
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$630
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$826
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$622
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$634
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$639
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$597
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$642
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$597
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$664
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$531
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$602
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$618
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$637
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$672
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$663
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$590
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$666
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$659
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$617
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$753