Riyadh vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Riyadh Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1278
$1379
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2887
$4064
🏠 One person rent
$660
$768
🏘️ Family rent
$1026
$1746
🍽️ Food expenses
$336
$353
🚐 Transport expenses
$153
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$2178
$1510
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
68
100
😀 Quality of life
75
78
🏙️ Population
8M
24.9M

The cost of living in Riyadh is 7% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 3955th and 3152nd ($1278 vs $1379) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 5th in Saudi Arabia and China, respectively. Check Saudi Arabia vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Riyadh compared to 1.1 months in Shanghai. Riyadh ranked 1st best city to live in Saudi Arabia vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 917th and 484th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Riyadh vs Shanghai

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

Riyadh Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$6.6
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$53.5
$42.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.67
$6.39
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.6
$3.55
☕ Cappuccino
$3.87
$4.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.8
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$772
$1079
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$469
$611
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1122
$2636
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$803
$1416
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$55.7
$44.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$84.9
$67.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$74.7
$18.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.96%
4.98%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1718
$18451
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1152
$10024
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.07
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$31.8
$28.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$14.7
$6.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.61
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.78
$3.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.83
$2.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.22
$1.78
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.75
$2.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.29
$21.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.67
$4.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$13.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.07
$2.49
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.73
$1.63
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.62
$2.11
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.02
$1.88
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.26
$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.21
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.28
$1.49
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.89
$19.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2
$0.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$7.47
$3.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.41
$5.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.37
$5.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2
$1.67
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$4.7
$1.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$99.5
$75.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17.2
$8.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$38
$108
💇 Haircut, simple
$8.76
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$49.1
$81.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$109
$90.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$400
$1380
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$6836
$27276

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Riyadh

Distance City Cost of living
310 km or 193 mi Al-Mubarraz
$705
316 km or 196 mi Unaizah
$858
350 km or 217 mi Ar Rass
$750
389 km or 242 mi Dhahran
$952
394 km or 245 mi Dammam
$987
395 km or 245 mi Jubail
$907
417 km or 259 mi Qatif
$880
420 km or 261 mi Riffa
$1245
421 km or 262 mi Isa Town
$1277
426 km or 265 mi Manama
$1277
460 km or 286 mi Al Wafrah
$960
480 km or 298 mi As Sulayyil
$843
491 km or 305 mi Doha
$1964
496 km or 308 mi Al Khor
$1797
540 km or 336 mi Kuwait City
$1384
595 km or 369 mi Ha'il
$880
611 km or 379 mi Umm Qasr
$555
618 km or 384 mi Al-Faw
$543
631 km or 392 mi Bushehr
$785
646 km or 401 mi Az Zubayr
$553
652 km or 405 mi Abadan
$634
658 km or 409 mi Basra
$815
659 km or 410 mi Khorramshahr
$687
668 km or 415 mi Bisha
$829
680 km or 423 mi Borazjan
$686
701 km or 436 mi Bandar-e Mahshahr
$688
713 km or 443 mi Madinat Zayed
$1261
714 km or 443 mi Nasiriyah
$633
719 km or 447 mi Medina
$1028
737 km or 458 mi Kazerun
$687
747 km or 464 mi Behbahan
$686
754 km or 469 mi Samawah
$606
766 km or 476 mi Ahvaz
$542
775 km or 481 mi Abu Dhabi
$1967
790 km or 491 mi Mecca
$992
798 km or 496 mi Shiraz
$947
800 km or 497 mi Amarah
$632
804 km or 499 mi Bareq
$833
804 km or 500 mi Jahrom
$688
823 km or 511 mi Yasuj
$650

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