Guangzhou vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Guangzhou Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$774
$1097
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2226
$3454
🏠 One person rent
$352
$577
🏘️ Family rent
$830
$1404
🍽️ Food expenses
$266
$287
🚐 Transport expenses
$79
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1294
$1644
😷 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 29% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6548th and 4858th ($774 vs $1097) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 31st and 6th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Guangzhou compared to 1.5 months in Shanghai. Ranked 6th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 1055th vs 675th 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
$3.42
$4.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$22.2
$39.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.78
$5.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.95
$1.45
 Cappuccino
$3.14
$3.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.49
$0.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$465
$823
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$263
$455
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1183
$2226
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$655
$1115
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$37.9
$33.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$58
$51.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$11.1
$14.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.17%
3.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10125
$14361
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4029
$8086
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.28
$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$19.2
$34.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.55
$5.85
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.9
$2.2
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.09
$1.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.19
$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.56
$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.2
$15.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.44
$3.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.2
$10.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.23
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.84
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.85
$0.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.03
$1.12
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.41
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.26
$1.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$20.6
$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.9
$0.84
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.77
$3.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.18
$6.38
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.48
$6.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.16
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.64
$2.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.9
$55.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.72
$8.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$27.7
$87.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.58
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$39
$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$70
$75.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$408
$1181
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$14511
$30174

Cost of living in other countries

GuangzhouShanghai

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Guangzhou

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Foshan
$611
51 km or 32 mi Dongguan
$656
63 km or 39 mi Jiangmen
$804
65 km or 41 mi Qingyuan
$794
67 km or 42 mi Zhongshan
$461
83 km or 52 mi Zhaoqing
$793
100 km or 62 mi Zhuhai
$653
102 km or 63 mi Kaiping
$812
105 km or 65 mi Shenzhen
$916
111 km or 69 mi Macau
$1588
118 km or 73 mi Huizhou
$601
127 km or 79 mi Yunfu
$823
131 km or 81 mi Kowloon
$2432
132 km or 82 mi Hong Kong
$2737
162 km or 100 mi Heyuan
$764
189 km or 117 mi Shaoguan
$818
194 km or 121 mi Yangjiang
$877
202 km or 126 mi Wuzhou
$803
205 km or 127 mi Lianzhou
$755
216 km or 134 mi Shanwei
$936
225 km or 140 mi Hezhou
$758
281 km or 175 mi Gaozhou
$761
291 km or 181 mi Maoming
$756
298 km or 185 mi Chenzhou
$724
298 km or 185 mi Puning
$569
319 km or 198 mi Meizhou
$655
321 km or 199 mi Jieyang
$443
323 km or 201 mi Yulin
$771
345 km or 214 mi Ganzhou
$761
349 km or 217 mi Chaozhou
$451
352 km or 219 mi Shantou
$581
364 km or 226 mi Zhanjiang
$764
373 km or 232 mi Guigang
$702
384 km or 239 mi Guilin
$522
406 km or 252 mi Yongzhou
$609
414 km or 257 mi Liuzhou
$579
416 km or 259 mi Laibin
$598
424 km or 264 mi Hengyang
$590
440 km or 273 mi Longyan
$649
460 km or 286 mi Haikou
$650

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$984
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$665
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$700
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$868
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$573
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$631
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$645
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$602
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$640
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$670
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$670
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$657
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$590
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$708
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$643
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$716
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$695
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$702
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$644
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$805
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$643
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$654
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$603
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$650
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$607
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$644
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$665
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$522
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$620
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$621
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$642
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$677
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$665
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$592
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$672
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$621
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$746