Helsinki vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Helsinki Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1936
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4390
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$1009
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$1646
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$602
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$155
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3013
$1905
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
78
100
😀 Quality of life
95
79
🏙️ Population
676K
24.9M

The cost of living in Helsinki is 70% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 2046th and 4780th ($1936 vs $1136) 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 1.6 months in Helsinki compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Helsinki ranked 1st best city to live in Finland vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 37th and 571st 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
$15.5
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$84.5
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.8
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$9
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$5
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.13
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1052
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$873
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1924
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1400
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$77.1
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$119
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$22.6
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.86%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8423
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5044
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.28
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$71.9
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$20
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.1
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.47
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.74
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.82
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.59
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.03
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.9
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$23
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.52
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.95
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.34
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.94
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.32
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.91
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.37
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.94
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.04
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$11.5
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11.6
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.42
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.71
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.2
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49.5
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$18.7
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$84.6
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$21.6
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$97.8
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$97.8
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$353
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$10871
$31401

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Helsinki

Distance City Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi Vantaa
$1782
16 km or 9.7 mi Espoo
$2023
26 km or 16 mi Tuusula
$1570
27 km or 17 mi Kerava
$1532
29 km or 18 mi Kirkkonummi
$1608
33 km or 21 mi Nurmijarvi
$1562
34 km or 21 mi Jarvenpaa
$1631
47 km or 29 mi Porvoo
$1453
49 km or 30 mi Lohja
$1363
51 km or 32 mi Hyvinkaa
$1360
63 km or 39 mi Riihimaki
$1534
78 km or 48 mi Maardu
$1278
83 km or 51 mi Tallinn
$1447
86 km or 53 mi Raseborg
$1525
96 km or 59 mi Hameenlinna
$1431
98 km or 61 mi Lahti
$1453
102 km or 63 mi Salo
$1571
115 km or 72 mi Kotka
$1416
122 km or 76 mi Rakvere
$973
124 km or 77 mi Kouvola
$1447
131 km or 81 mi Valkeakoski
$1584
132 km or 82 mi Hamina
$1439
143 km or 89 mi Kaarina
$1546
150 km or 93 mi Turku
$1591
156 km or 97 mi Raisio
$1544
157 km or 98 mi Kohtla-Jarve
$990
160 km or 100 mi Tampere
$1527
164 km or 102 mi Nokia
$1499
169 km or 105 mi Ylojarvi
$1496
170 km or 106 mi Sastamala
$1469
181 km or 113 mi Sillamae
$979
188 km or 117 mi Jamsa
$1467
201 km or 125 mi Parnu
$1102
203 km or 126 mi Lappeenranta
$1378
203 km or 126 mi Narva
$846
205 km or 127 mi Viljandi
$966
210 km or 131 mi Mikkeli
$1389
214 km or 133 mi Rauma
$1331
224 km or 139 mi Pori
$1325
224 km or 139 mi Tartu
$1120

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1028
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$706
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$749
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$738
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$585
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$661
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$718
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$620
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$676
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$706
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$685
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$612
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$733
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$674
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$742
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$702
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$729
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$674
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$843
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$676
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$690
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$629
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$698
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$630
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$673
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$698
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$650
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$651
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$703
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$708
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$699
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$702
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$771
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$648
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$774