Guangzhou vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Guangzhou Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$785
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2110
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$342
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$587
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$267
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$87.2
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1288
$1068
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
20 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
96
99
😀 Quality of life
77
76
🏙️ Population
18.7M
24.9M

The cost of living in Guangzhou is 32% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6854th and 4880th ($785 vs $1147) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 34th and 5th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Guangzhou compared to 0.9 months in Shanghai. Ranked 3rd vs 5th best cities to live in China, and 1149th vs 1178th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$2.93
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$29.7
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.12
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.17
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$3.11
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.55
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$484
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$245
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$851
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$437
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$35.4
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$53.9
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13.9
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.46%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9091
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3444
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.44
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$20.7
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.01
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.23
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.85
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.1
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.06
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.53
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.5
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.06
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.3
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.19
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.8
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.62
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.95
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.35
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$9.78
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.06
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.79
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.6
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.87
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.23
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.77
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$67.1
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.46
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29.7
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.3
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$40.8
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$82.4
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$458
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$19408
$27610

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
$627
51 km or 32 mi Dongguan
$694
63 km or 39 mi Jiangmen
$873
65 km or 41 mi Qingyuan
$801
67 km or 42 mi Zhongshan
$548
83 km or 52 mi Zhaoqing
$807
100 km or 62 mi Zhuhai
$678
102 km or 63 mi Kaiping
$858
105 km or 65 mi Shenzhen
$995
111 km or 69 mi Macau
$1734
118 km or 73 mi Huizhou
$638
127 km or 79 mi Yunfu
$839
131 km or 81 mi Kowloon
$2396
132 km or 82 mi Hong Kong
$2663
162 km or 100 mi Heyuan
$777
189 km or 117 mi Shaoguan
$793
194 km or 121 mi Yangjiang
$908
202 km or 126 mi Wuzhou
$828
205 km or 127 mi Lianzhou
$766
216 km or 134 mi Shanwei
$954
225 km or 140 mi Hezhou
$778
281 km or 175 mi Gaozhou
$802
291 km or 181 mi Maoming
$797
298 km or 185 mi Chenzhou
$739
298 km or 185 mi Puning
$600
319 km or 198 mi Meizhou
$682
321 km or 199 mi Jieyang
$473
323 km or 201 mi Yulin
$751
345 km or 214 mi Ganzhou
$758
349 km or 217 mi Chaozhou
$474
352 km or 219 mi Shantou
$612
364 km or 226 mi Zhanjiang
$824
373 km or 232 mi Guigang
$714
384 km or 239 mi Guilin
$528
406 km or 252 mi Yongzhou
$648
414 km or 257 mi Liuzhou
$601
416 km or 259 mi Laibin
$620
424 km or 264 mi Hengyang
$602
440 km or 273 mi Longyan
$705
460 km or 286 mi Haikou
$711

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1030
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$708
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$726
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$725
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$798
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$643
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$678
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$581
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$652
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$680
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$658
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$571
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$660
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$645
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$670
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$663
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$636
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$659
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$899
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$651
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$664
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$657
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$627
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$667
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$623
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$693
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$691
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$623
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$644
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$661
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$696
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$693
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$620
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$677
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$684
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$644
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$789