Nairobi vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Nairobi Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$760
$1097
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2089
$3454
🏠 One person rent
$262
$577
🏘️ Family rent
$619
$1404
🍽️ Food expenses
$281
$287
🚐 Transport expenses
$160
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$399
$1644
😷 Air quality
Good
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
4 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
68
100
😀 Quality of life
59
78
🏙️ Population
5.55M
24.9M

The cost of living in Nairobi is 31% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 6622nd and 4858th ($760 vs $1097) 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 1.5 months in Shanghai. Nairobi ranked 1st best city to live in Kenya vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 5369th and 675th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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
$5.45
$4.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$38.6
$39.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.64
$5.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.34
$1.45
 Cappuccino
$2.28
$3.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.73
$0.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$395
$823
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$156
$455
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1080
$2226
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$418
$1115
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$20
$33.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$31.1
$51.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$37.8
$14.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
14.8%
3.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1743
$14361
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$998
$8086
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.77
$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$31
$34.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13.9
$5.85
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.56
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.92
$2.2
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.56
$1.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.65
$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.63
$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11
$15.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.33
$3.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.36
$10.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.97
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.1
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.01
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.03
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$0.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.18
$1.12
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.52
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.45
$1.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.1
$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.13
$0.84
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.08
$3.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$2.6
$6.38
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.72
$6.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.23
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.14
$2.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$42
$55.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.17
$8.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$15.9
$87.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$4.79
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$19.3
$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$59.2
$75.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$187
$1181
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$7984
$30174

Cost of living in other countries

NairobiShanghai

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$589
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$408
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$500
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$541
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$638
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$561
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$483
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$522
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$490
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$602
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$605
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$498
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$580
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$562
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$625
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$545
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$646
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$698
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$558
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$502
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$523
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$552
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$486
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$811
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$594
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$650
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$613
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$771
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$648
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$573
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$518
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$801
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$492
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$648
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$413
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$651
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$648
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$585
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$479
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$785

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