London vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

London Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2765
$1379
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$6448
$4064
🏠 One person rent
$1730
$768
🏘️ Family rent
$2985
$1746
🍽️ Food expenses
$460
$353
🚐 Transport expenses
$406
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3648
$1510
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
97
78
🏙️ Population
8.91M
24.9M

The cost of living in London is 101% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 85th and 3152nd ($2765 vs $1379) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 5th in the United Kingdom and China, respectively. Check the United Kingdom vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months in London compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. London ranked 1st best city to live in the United Kingdom vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 4th and 484th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in London vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in London vs Shanghai

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

London Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$15.5
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$67
$42.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$8.24
$6.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.18
$3.55
☕ Cappuccino
$4.05
$4.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.14
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1948
$1079
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1416
$611
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3604
$2636
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2455
$1416
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$174
$44.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$266
$67.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$34.2
$18.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.55%
4.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14539
$18451
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8844
$10024
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.14
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$145
$28.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.8
$6.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.08
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.26
$3.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.32
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.71
$1.78
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.54
$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.48
$21.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.11
$4.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$13.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.46
$2.49
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.54
$1.63
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.4
$2.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.8
$1.88
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.18
$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.93
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.48
$1.49
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$10.4
$19.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.33
$0.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$16
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6
$5.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.33
$5.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.43
$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.05
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49
$75.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.8
$8.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$115
$108
💇 Haircut, simple
$18.2
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$86
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$92.3
$90.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1862
$1380
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$21740
$27276

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near London

Distance City Cost of living
1.3 km or 0.8 mi Westminster
$2488
11 km or 7 mi Wimbledon
$1510
13 km or 8.3 mi Richmond
$1503
15 km or 9.3 mi Croydon
$1904
16 km or 10 mi Greenford
$1743
19 km or 12 mi Ewell
$1506
21 km or 13 mi Coulsdon
$1508
23 km or 14 mi Esher
$1507
24 km or 15 mi Walton-on-Thames
$1516
25 km or 15 mi Watford
$1873
27 km or 17 mi Upminster
$1511
28 km or 17 mi Rickmansworth
$1501
31 km or 19 mi St Albans
$1820
32 km or 20 mi Grays
$1512
32 km or 20 mi Hertford
$1500
32 km or 20 mi Slough
$1663
32 km or 20 mi Brentwood
$1588
35 km or 22 mi Harlow
$1541
35 km or 22 mi Gravesend
$1831
35 km or 22 mi Hemel Hempstead
$1510
37 km or 23 mi Woking
$1903
38 km or 24 mi Harpenden
$1512
40 km or 25 mi Billericay
$1440
41 km or 25 mi Maidenhead
$1670
43 km or 27 mi East Grinstead
$1509
43 km or 27 mi Basildon
$2070
43 km or 27 mi Guildford
$2000
44 km or 27 mi Crawley
$1767
44 km or 27 mi Stevenage
$1619
44 km or 27 mi Bracknell
$1817
44 km or 28 mi Rochester
$1719
44 km or 28 mi Tonbridge
$1808
45 km or 28 mi High Wycombe
$1741
46 km or 28 mi Bishop's Stortford
$1511
46 km or 28 mi Luton
$1541
47 km or 29 mi Chatham
$1672
49 km or 30 mi Chelmsford
$1761
49 km or 30 mi Gillingham
$1516
49 km or 30 mi Godalming
$1793
49 km or 31 mi Farnborough
$1871

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$754
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$667
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$701
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$677
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1099
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$726
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$674
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$693
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$952
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$690
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$852
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$776
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$684
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$680
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$882
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$665
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$726
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$685
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$778
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$683
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$891
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$681
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$673
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$672
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$652
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$662
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$674
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$689
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$674
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$573
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$711
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$666
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$655
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$650
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$681
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$664
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$678
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$729
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$673
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$811