Hong Kong vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Hong Kong Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2737
$1097
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6793
$3454
🏠 One person rent
$1830
$577
🏘️ Family rent
$3856
$1404
🍽️ Food expenses
$524
$287
🚐 Transport expenses
$232
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3804
$1644
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
19 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
88
78
🏙️ Population
7.41M
24.9M

The cost of living in Hong Kong is 150% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 427th and 4858th ($2737 vs $1097) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Hong Kong compared to 1.5 months in Shanghai. Ranked 1st vs 4th best cities to live in China, and 248th vs 675th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Hong Kong vs Shanghai infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Hong Kong vs Shanghai

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

Hong Kong Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$8.82
$4.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$57.1
$39.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.24
$5.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.49
$1.45
 Cappuccino
$5.3
$3.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.37
$0.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2169
$823
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1533
$455
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4708
$2226
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3331
$1115
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$144
$33.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$225
$51.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$25.1
$14.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.02%
3.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$26276
$14361
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$16290
$8086
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.55
$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$69.3
$34.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$14.4
$5.85
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.78
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$3.26
$2.2
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.28
$1.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.14
$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.62
$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$24.8
$15.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.8
$3.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$22.3
$10.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.97
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.69
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.95
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.27
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.94
$0.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.4
$1.12
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.11
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.24
$1.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$18.2
$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.06
$0.84
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.1
$3.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.4
$6.38
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.94
$6.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.97
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.73
$2.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$84.1
$55.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13
$8.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$65.2
$87.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$23.9
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$83.1
$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$90.1
$75.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1052
$1181
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$22706
$30174

Cost of living in other countries

Hong KongShanghai

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Hong Kong

Distance City Cost of living
5 km or 3.1 mi Kowloon
$2432
30 km or 19 mi Shenzhen
$916
61 km or 38 mi Zhuhai
$653
64 km or 40 mi Macau
$1588
88 km or 55 mi Zhongshan
$461
95 km or 59 mi Dongguan
$656
96 km or 60 mi Huizhou
$601
116 km or 72 mi Jiangmen
$804
132 km or 82 mi Guangzhou
$774
132 km or 82 mi Shanwei
$936
137 km or 85 mi Foshan
$611
152 km or 94 mi Kaiping
$812
173 km or 107 mi Heyuan
$764
193 km or 120 mi Qingyuan
$794
195 km or 121 mi Zhaoqing
$793
229 km or 143 mi Yunfu
$823
231 km or 144 mi Yangjiang
$877
236 km or 147 mi Puning
$569
267 km or 166 mi Jieyang
$443
286 km or 178 mi Shaoguan
$818
287 km or 178 mi Shantou
$581
297 km or 184 mi Chaozhou
$451
301 km or 187 mi Meizhou
$655
320 km or 199 mi Wuzhou
$803
333 km or 207 mi Lianzhou
$755
341 km or 212 mi Maoming
$756
343 km or 213 mi Gaozhou
$761
357 km or 222 mi Hezhou
$758
403 km or 250 mi Ganzhou
$761
406 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$764
408 km or 254 mi Chenzhou
$724
414 km or 257 mi Yulin
$771
427 km or 266 mi Longyan
$649
435 km or 270 mi Zhangzhou
$664
469 km or 292 mi Xiamen
$688
471 km or 292 mi Haikou
$650
475 km or 295 mi Guigang
$702
489 km or 304 mi Kinmen
$823
516 km or 320 mi Guilin
$522
529 km or 329 mi Laibin
$598

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