Guangzhou vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Guangzhou Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$863
$1379
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2577
$4064
🏠 One person rent
$406
$768
🏘️ Family rent
$913
$1746
🍽️ Food expenses
$263
$353
🚐 Transport expenses
$98.3
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1248
$1510
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
20 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
97
100
😀 Quality of life
76
78
🏙️ Population
18.7M
24.9M

The cost of living in Guangzhou is 37% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6006th and 3152nd ($863 vs $1379) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 16th and 5th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Guangzhou compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. Ranked 6th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 696th vs 484th 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

Share this infographic!

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
$4.43
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$29.8
$42.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.14
$6.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.88
$3.55
☕ Cappuccino
$3.87
$4.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.46
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$504
$1079
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$306
$611
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1283
$2636
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$718
$1416
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$40.6
$44.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$62.3
$67.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$19.5
$18.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.1%
4.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$13272
$18451
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5592
$10024
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.37
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$29.4
$28.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.79
$6.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.27
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.05
$3.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.7
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$1.78
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.88
$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.32
$21.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.06
$4.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.2
$13.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.1
$2.49
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.48
$1.63
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.92
$2.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.37
$1.88
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.79
$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.16
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.36
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.09
$1.49
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.4
$19.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.94
$0.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.84
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.73
$5.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.2
$5.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.63
$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.64
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$32.6
$75.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.8
$8.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$46.8
$108
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.96
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$66.1
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$71
$90.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$580
$1380
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$25540
$27276

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

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
$648
51 km or 32 mi Dongguan
$762
63 km or 39 mi Jiangmen
$702
65 km or 41 mi Qingyuan
$730
67 km or 42 mi Zhongshan
$612
83 km or 52 mi Zhaoqing
$724
100 km or 62 mi Zhuhai
$686
102 km or 63 mi Kaiping
$668
105 km or 65 mi Shenzhen
$1079
111 km or 69 mi Macau
$1610
118 km or 73 mi Huizhou
$757
127 km or 79 mi Yunfu
$716
131 km or 81 mi Kowloon
$2380
132 km or 82 mi Hong Kong
$2884
162 km or 100 mi Heyuan
$692
189 km or 117 mi Shaoguan
$701
194 km or 121 mi Yangjiang
$718
202 km or 126 mi Wuzhou
$721
205 km or 127 mi Lianzhou
$656
216 km or 134 mi Shanwei
$709
225 km or 140 mi Hezhou
$700
281 km or 175 mi Gaozhou
$689
291 km or 181 mi Maoming
$516
298 km or 185 mi Chenzhou
$775
298 km or 185 mi Puning
$702
319 km or 198 mi Meizhou
$732
321 km or 199 mi Jieyang
$760
323 km or 201 mi Yulin
$717
345 km or 214 mi Ganzhou
$788
349 km or 217 mi Chaozhou
$661
352 km or 219 mi Shantou
$1049
364 km or 226 mi Zhanjiang
$658
373 km or 232 mi Guigang
$697
384 km or 239 mi Guilin
$533
406 km or 252 mi Yongzhou
$749
414 km or 257 mi Liuzhou
$679
416 km or 259 mi Laibin
$705
424 km or 264 mi Hengyang
$673
440 km or 273 mi Longyan
$689
460 km or 286 mi Haikou
$597

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$754
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$667
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$701
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$677
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1099
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$726
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$674
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$693
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$952
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$690
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$852
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$776
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$684
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$680
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$882
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$665
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$726
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$685
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$778
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$683
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$891
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$681
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$673
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$672
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$652
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$662
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$674
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$689
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$674
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$573
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$711
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$666
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$655
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$650
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$681
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$664
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$678
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$729
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$673
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$811