Nairobi vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Nairobi Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$811
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2043
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$286
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$478
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$286
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$176
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$181
$931
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
4 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
68
100
😀 Quality of life
58
77
🏙️ Population
5.55M
24.9M

The cost of living in Nairobi is 28% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6622nd and 4879th ($811 vs $1128) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 5th in Kenya and China, respectively. Check Kenya vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.2 months in Nairobi compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Nairobi ranked 1st best city to live in Kenya vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 6071st and 1383rd 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
$5.85
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$38.8
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.96
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.33
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$2.45
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.7
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$399
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$179
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$726
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$322
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$23.4
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$35.9
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.8
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
15%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1979
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1111
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.76
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$31.2
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.43
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.9
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.55
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.66
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.2
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.51
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.68
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.05
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.85
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.95
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.04
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.53
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.49
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.5
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.2
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.29
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$2.64
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.73
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.23
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.16
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$44.6
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.42
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$17.1
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$4.81
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$19.7
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$67.6
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$225
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$8707
$27624

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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
$460
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$420
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$503
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$549
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$612
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$533
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$528
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$543
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$511
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$623
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$654
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$548
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$596
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$582
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$656
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$552
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$658
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$717
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$578
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$526
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$567
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$609
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$421
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$799
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$627
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$687
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$597
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$758
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$687
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$567
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$524
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$833
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$499
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$686
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$412
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$689
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$688
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$617
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$491
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$820

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