Helsinki vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Helsinki Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1947
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4629
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$972
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$1698
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$616
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$167
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3432
$931
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
16 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
78
100
😀 Quality of life
96
77
🏙️ Population
687K
24.9M

The cost of living in Helsinki is 73% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 2171st and 4879th ($1947 vs $1128) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 5th in Finland and China, respectively. Check Finland vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Helsinki compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Helsinki ranked 1st best city to live in Finland vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 30th and 1383rd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Helsinki vs Shanghai infographic

Share this infographic!

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
$15.4
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$85
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.6
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.72
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$5.31
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.3
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1053
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$832
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1869
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1486
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$73
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$113
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$23.3
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.92%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9157
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5238
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.71
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$81.2
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$20.8
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.05
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.38
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.34
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.41
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.07
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$23.3
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.71
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.21
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.63
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.48
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.72
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.3
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.25
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.28
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.5
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.57
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.85
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.14
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$47.1
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$18.5
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$123
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$20
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$105
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$110
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$418
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$13230
$27624

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

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
$1881
16 km or 9.7 mi Espoo
$1937
26 km or 16 mi Tuusula
$1655
27 km or 17 mi Kerava
$1611
29 km or 18 mi Kirkkonummi
$1737
33 km or 21 mi Nurmijarvi
$1642
34 km or 21 mi Jarvenpaa
$1783
47 km or 29 mi Porvoo
$1561
49 km or 30 mi Lohja
$1383
51 km or 32 mi Hyvinkaa
$1546
63 km or 39 mi Riihimaki
$1394
78 km or 48 mi Maardu
$1372
83 km or 51 mi Tallinn
$1601
86 km or 53 mi Raseborg
$1566
96 km or 59 mi Hameenlinna
$1444
98 km or 61 mi Lahti
$1618
102 km or 63 mi Salo
$1589
115 km or 72 mi Kotka
$1516
122 km or 76 mi Rakvere
$999
124 km or 77 mi Kouvola
$1561
131 km or 81 mi Valkeakoski
$1570
132 km or 82 mi Hamina
$1516
143 km or 89 mi Kaarina
$1521
150 km or 93 mi Turku
$1545
156 km or 97 mi Raisio
$1524
157 km or 98 mi Kohtla-Jarve
$1089
160 km or 100 mi Tampere
$1422
164 km or 102 mi Nokia
$1437
169 km or 105 mi Ylojarvi
$1438
170 km or 106 mi Sastamala
$1476
181 km or 113 mi Sillamae
$1064
188 km or 117 mi Jamsa
$1503
201 km or 125 mi Parnu
$1184
203 km or 126 mi Lappeenranta
$1454
203 km or 126 mi Narva
$1083
205 km or 127 mi Viljandi
$1041
210 km or 131 mi Mikkeli
$1386
214 km or 133 mi Rauma
$1353
224 km or 139 mi Pori
$1363
224 km or 139 mi Tartu
$1174

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1003
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$673
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$696
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$771
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$597
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$612
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$632
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$547
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$648
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$679
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$631
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$634
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$576
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$713
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$621
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$740
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$674
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$601
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$630
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$826
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$622
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$634
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$639
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$597
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$642
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$597
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$664
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$531
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$602
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$618
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$637
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$672
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$663
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$590
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$666
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$659
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$617
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$753