Nairobi vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Nairobi Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$745
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2030
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$269
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$619
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$254
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$161
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$394
$1905
😷 Air quality
Good
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
4 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
67
100
😀 Quality of life
57
79
🏙️ Population
5.55M
24.9M

The cost of living in Nairobi is 34% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6689th and 4780th ($745 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th in Kenya and China, respectively. Check Kenya vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Nairobi compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Nairobi ranked 1st best city to live in Kenya vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 5632nd and 571st among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Nairobi vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Nairobi vs Shanghai

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

Nairobi Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.67
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$26.2
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.77
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.2
$1.43
☕ Cappuccino
$2.41
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.65
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$366
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$164
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1021
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$420
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$25.1
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$38.8
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.5
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
14.58%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1536
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1125
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.78
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.5
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13
$6.13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.62
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.91
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.48
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.28
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.9
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.43
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.2
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.83
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.05
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.08
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.16
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.47
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.45
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.3
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.1
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.93
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.2
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.94
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.95
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.2
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$40.9
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.09
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$23.2
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.57
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$19.2
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$58.6
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$168
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$8325
$31401

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$571
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$482
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$493
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$535
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$543
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$548
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$460
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$518
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$483
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$581
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$583
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$502
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$560
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$511
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$466
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$601
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$643
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$707
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$559
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$564
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$675
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$736
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$639
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$722
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$579
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$509
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$622
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$723
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$509
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$568
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$545
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$784
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$598
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$509
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$441
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$510
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$509
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$576
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$579
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$768

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