Guangzhou vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Guangzhou Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$782
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2063
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$354
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$619
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$262
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$84.2
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$829
$879
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
20 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
96
99
😀 Quality of life
74
75
🏙️ Population
18.7M
24.9M

The cost of living in Guangzhou is 31% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6835th and 4971st ($782 vs $1126) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 32nd and 5th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.1 months in Guangzhou compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Ranked 7th vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 2285th vs 1655th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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
$2.86
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$28.6
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.05
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.08
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$2.92
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.51
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$532
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$243
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$951
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$445
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$38.7
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$59.4
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13.7
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.62%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8986
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3592
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.43
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$20.5
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.89
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.14
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.86
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.96
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.59
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.97
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.3
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.77
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.94
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.03
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.41
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.32
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.57
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.03
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.78
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.46
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.71
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.22
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.72
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$60.1
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.05
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.67
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$41.3
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$71.6
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$400
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$16938
$27781

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
$611
51 km or 32 mi Dongguan
$666
63 km or 39 mi Jiangmen
$848
65 km or 41 mi Qingyuan
$795
67 km or 42 mi Zhongshan
$534
83 km or 52 mi Zhaoqing
$807
100 km or 62 mi Zhuhai
$674
102 km or 63 mi Kaiping
$844
105 km or 65 mi Shenzhen
$939
111 km or 69 mi Macau
$1718
118 km or 73 mi Huizhou
$621
127 km or 79 mi Yunfu
$832
131 km or 81 mi Kowloon
$2415
132 km or 82 mi Hong Kong
$2674
162 km or 100 mi Heyuan
$765
189 km or 117 mi Shaoguan
$807
194 km or 121 mi Yangjiang
$896
202 km or 126 mi Wuzhou
$816
205 km or 127 mi Lianzhou
$760
216 km or 134 mi Shanwei
$943
225 km or 140 mi Hezhou
$769
281 km or 175 mi Gaozhou
$790
291 km or 181 mi Maoming
$789
298 km or 185 mi Chenzhou
$730
298 km or 185 mi Puning
$589
319 km or 198 mi Meizhou
$673
321 km or 199 mi Jieyang
$464
323 km or 201 mi Yulin
$738
345 km or 214 mi Ganzhou
$814
349 km or 217 mi Chaozhou
$465
352 km or 219 mi Shantou
$602
364 km or 226 mi Zhanjiang
$805
373 km or 232 mi Guigang
$699
384 km or 239 mi Guilin
$533
406 km or 252 mi Yongzhou
$638
414 km or 257 mi Liuzhou
$587
416 km or 259 mi Laibin
$608
424 km or 264 mi Hengyang
$609
440 km or 273 mi Longyan
$698
460 km or 286 mi Haikou
$694

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765