Medan vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Medan Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$453
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1141
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$189
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$310
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$170
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$32.3
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$216
$1068
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
55
99
😀 Quality of life
47
76
🏙️ Population
2.11M
24.9M

The cost of living in Medan is 60% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8852nd and 4880th ($453 vs $1147) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 44th and 5th in Indonesia and China, respectively. Check Indonesia vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Medan compared to 0.9 months in Shanghai. Medan ranked 15th best city to live in Indonesia vs Shanghai ranked 5th in China, while ranked 6943rd and 1178th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Medan vs Shanghai

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

Medan Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$1.64
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$10.7
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$3.06
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.01
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$1.7
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.37
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$173
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$109
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$311
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$196
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$43.2
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$67.1
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$24
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
9.17%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1152
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$558
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.28
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$6.85
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$2.7
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.7
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.18
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.11
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.89
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.32
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.98
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.36
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.44
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.03
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.85
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.8
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.62
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.3
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.01
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.72
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.81
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.56
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.79
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.16
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.74
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.7
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$17.9
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.24
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$13.1
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.48
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$47.2
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$96.2
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$114
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$7769
$27610

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Medan

Distance City Cost of living
21 km or 13 mi Binjai
$449
67 km or 41 mi Tebing Tinggi
$449
90 km or 56 mi Pematangsiantar
$459
119 km or 74 mi Langsa
$439
148 km or 92 mi Tanjungbalai
$470
238 km or 148 mi Lhokseumawe
$429
264 km or 164 mi Teluk Intan
$678
264 km or 164 mi Taiping
$555
264 km or 164 mi Padangsidempuan
$530
268 km or 166 mi George Town
$762
269 km or 167 mi Butterworth
$720
286 km or 178 mi Ipoh
$677
298 km or 185 mi Sungai Petani
$637
307 km or 191 mi Gunungsitoli
$527
317 km or 197 mi Klang
$743
322 km or 200 mi Ko Lipe
$747
324 km or 201 mi Langkawi
$616
325 km or 202 mi Shah Alam
$741
331 km or 206 mi Alor Setar
$545
332 km or 206 mi Subang Jaya
$798
332 km or 206 mi Petaling Jaya
$783
341 km or 212 mi Kuala Lumpur
$992
342 km or 212 mi Cyberjaya
$654
345 km or 215 mi Putrajaya
$610
352 km or 219 mi Kangar
$592
378 km or 235 mi Seremban
$617
381 km or 237 mi Dumai
$488
422 km or 262 mi Hat Yai
$588
426 km or 265 mi Banda Aceh
$407
431 km or 268 mi Malacca
$707
445 km or 277 mi Ko Lanta
$806
466 km or 289 mi Pekanbaru
$466
468 km or 291 mi Muar
$759
470 km or 292 mi Phuket
$1010
483 km or 300 mi Kota Bharu
$531
487 km or 303 mi Ao Nang
$784
489 km or 304 mi Krabi
$836
515 km or 320 mi Batu Pahat
$737
518 km or 322 mi Kuantan
$576
529 km or 329 mi Kuala Terengganu
$550

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1030
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$708
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$726
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$725
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$798
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$643
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$678
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$581
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$652
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$680
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$658
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$571
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$660
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$645
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$670
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$663
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$636
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$659
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$899
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$651
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$664
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$657
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$627
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$667
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$623
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$693
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$691
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$623
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$644
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$661
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$696
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$693
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$620
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$677
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$684
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$644
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$789