Helsinki vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Helsinki Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1816
$1097
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4167
$3454
🏠 One person rent
$918
$577
🏘️ Family rent
$1517
$1404
🍽️ Food expenses
$580
$287
🚐 Transport expenses
$155
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3006
$1644
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
78
100
😀 Quality of life
95
78
🏙️ Population
676K
24.9M

The cost of living in Helsinki is 66% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 2353rd and 4858th ($1816 vs $1097) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 6th in Finland and China, respectively. Check Finland vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Helsinki compared to 1.5 months in Shanghai. Helsinki ranked 1st best city to live in Finland vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 26th and 675th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Helsinki vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Helsinki vs Shanghai

Prices for goods and services in Helsinki and Shanghai are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Helsinki Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$14.7
$4.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$79.4
$39.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12
$5.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.29
$1.45
☕ Cappuccino
$4.73
$3.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.88
$0.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$980
$823
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$796
$455
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1796
$2226
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1297
$1115
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$64.9
$33.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$99.4
$51.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$20.8
$14.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.1%
3.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8076
$14361
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4860
$8086
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.1
$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$70
$34.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$21.3
$5.85
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.93
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.38
$2.2
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.62
$1.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.53
$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.66
$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.1
$15.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.5
$3.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.5
$10.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.42
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.98
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.31
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.94
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.27
$0.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.88
$1.12
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.24
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.88
$1.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15
$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.05
$0.84
🚬 Cigarette pack
$11.1
$3.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11.7
$6.38
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.2
$6.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.75
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.14
$2.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$45.2
$55.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$18.2
$8.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$79.4
$87.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$19.8
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$97.3
$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$96.8
$75.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$345
$1181
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9361
$30174

Cost of living in other countries

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More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Helsinki

Distance City Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi Vantaa
$1671
16 km or 9.7 mi Espoo
$1879
26 km or 16 mi Tuusula
$1509
27 km or 17 mi Kerava
$1486
29 km or 18 mi Kirkkonummi
$1509
33 km or 21 mi Nurmijarvi
$1479
34 km or 21 mi Jarvenpaa
$1533
47 km or 29 mi Porvoo
$1327
49 km or 30 mi Lohja
$1220
51 km or 32 mi Hyvinkaa
$1323
63 km or 39 mi Riihimaki
$1443
78 km or 48 mi Maardu
$1219
83 km or 51 mi Tallinn
$1414
86 km or 53 mi Raseborg
$1441
96 km or 59 mi Hameenlinna
$1309
98 km or 61 mi Lahti
$1398
102 km or 63 mi Salo
$1396
115 km or 72 mi Kotka
$1286
122 km or 76 mi Rakvere
$899
124 km or 77 mi Kouvola
$1355
131 km or 81 mi Valkeakoski
$1544
132 km or 82 mi Hamina
$1329
143 km or 89 mi Kaarina
$1450
150 km or 93 mi Turku
$1495
156 km or 97 mi Raisio
$1450
157 km or 98 mi Kohtla-Jarve
$973
160 km or 100 mi Tampere
$1464
164 km or 102 mi Nokia
$1432
169 km or 105 mi Ylojarvi
$1426
170 km or 106 mi Sastamala
$1391
181 km or 113 mi Sillamae
$952
188 km or 117 mi Jamsa
$1394
201 km or 125 mi Parnu
$1064
203 km or 126 mi Lappeenranta
$1295
203 km or 126 mi Narva
$953
205 km or 127 mi Viljandi
$933
210 km or 131 mi Mikkeli
$1308
214 km or 133 mi Rauma
$1254
224 km or 139 mi Pori
$1239
224 km or 139 mi Tartu
$1045

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