Seoul vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison
Updated:
| Seoul | Shanghai | |
|---|---|---|
| 🚶 Cost of living one person | ||
| 👨👩👧👦 Cost of living Family | ||
| 🏠 One person rent | ||
| 🏘️ Family rent | ||
| 🍽️ Food expenses | ||
| 🚐 Transport expenses | ||
| 💳 Monthly salary after tax | ||
| 😷 Air quality | ||
| ✈️ Airport proximity | ||
| 🎓 Higher education | ||
| 😀 Quality of life | ||
| 🏙️ Population |
The cost of living in Seoul is 21% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4438th and 4971st ($1363 vs $1126) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 5th in South Korea and China, respectively. Check South Korea vs China comparison.
The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Seoul compared to 0.8 months in Shanghai. Seoul ranked 2nd best city to live in South Korea vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 70th and 1655th among best cities to live in the world.
Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power
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Prices in Seoul vs Shanghai
Prices for goods and services in Seoul and Shanghai are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.
| Seoul | Shanghai | |
|---|---|---|
| Eating Out | ||
| 🍱 Lunch Menu | ||
| 🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2 | ||
| 🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's | ||
| 🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | ||
| ☕ Cappuccino | ||
| 🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz | ||
| Rent & Utilities | ||
| 🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | ||
| 🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | ||
| 🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc. | ||
| 🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc. | ||
| 🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited | ||
| 🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years | ||
| 🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | ||
| Transportation | ||
| 🚌 Local transport ticket | ||
| 🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport | ||
| 🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi | ||
| ⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal | ||
| Groceries | ||
| 🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt | ||
| 🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb | ||
| 🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥚 Eggs, x12 | ||
| 🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt | ||
| 🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz | ||
| 🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle | ||
| 🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | ||
| 🚬 Cigarette pack | ||
| 💊 Cold medicince, 1 week | ||
| 🧴 Hair Shampoo | ||
| 🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls | ||
| 👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube | ||
| Other | ||
| 🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month | ||
| 🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person | ||
| 👩⚕️ Doctor's visit | ||
| 💇 Haircut, simple | ||
| 👖 Brand Jeans | ||
| 👟 Brand Sneakers | ||
| 👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month | ||
| 🏫 International Primary School, 1 year | ||
Cost of living in other countries
Cost of living
More cities to compare
Cost of Living in the nearest cities
Cities near Seoul
| Distance | City | Cost of living |
|---|---|---|
| 13 km or 7.9 mi |  Guri | |
| 17 km or 10 mi | Goyang | |
| 17 km or 10 mi | Gwangmyeong | |
| 17 km or 11 mi | Gwacheon | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Uijeongbu | |
| 20 km or 12 mi | Hanam | |
| 20 km or 12 mi | Namyangju | |
| 20 km or 13 mi | Seongnam | |
| 21 km or 13 mi | Siheung | |
| 21 km or 13 mi | Bucheon | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Anyang | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Yangju | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | Gunpo | |
| 26 km or 16 mi | Gimpo | |
| 27 km or 17 mi | Uiwang | |
| 30 km or 19 mi | Gwangju | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Paju | |
| 33 km or 20 mi | Ansan | |
| 33 km or 21 mi | Suwon | |
| 34 km or 21 mi | Incheon | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Dongducheon | |
| 39 km or 24 mi | Pocheon | |
| 42 km or 26 mi | Yongin | |
| 47 km or 29 mi | Hwaseong | |
| 49 km or 31 mi | Osan | |
| 52 km or 32 mi | Icheon | |
| 58 km or 36 mi |  Kaesong | |
| 65 km or 40 mi | Yeoju | |
| 66 km or 41 mi | Pyeongtaek | |
| 69 km or 43 mi | Anseong | |
| 72 km or 45 mi | Chuncheon | |
| 83 km or 52 mi | Dangjin | |
| 86 km or 53 mi | Wonju | |
| 87 km or 54 mi | Cheonan | |
| 101 km or 63 mi | Seosan | |
| 107 km or 66 mi | Chungju | |
| 114 km or 71 mi | Cheongju | |
| 118 km or 73 mi | Jecheon | |
| 123 km or 77 mi | Haeju | |
| 124 km or 77 mi | Sejong |
Cities near Shanghai
| Distance | City | Cost of living |
|---|---|---|
| 9.4 km or 5.8 mi |  Pudong | |
| 47 km or 29 mi | Taicang | |
| 53 km or 33 mi | Kunshan | |
| 74 km or 46 mi | Qidong | |
| 82 km or 51 mi | Suzhou | |
| 82 km or 51 mi | Jiaxing | |
| 85 km or 53 mi | Haimen | |
| 88 km or 55 mi | Changshu | |
| 106 km or 66 mi | Nantong | |
| 117 km or 73 mi | Zhangjiagang | |
| 121 km or 75 mi | Wuxi | |
| 135 km or 84 mi | Huzhou | |
| 141 km or 87 mi | Jiangyin | |
| 142 km or 88 mi | Zhoushan | |
| 144 km or 89 mi | Ningbo | |
| 148 km or 92 mi | Jingjiang | |
| 155 km or 96 mi | Shaoxing | |
| 158 km or 98 mi | Yixing | |
| 159 km or 99 mi | Changzhou | |
| 160 km or 100 mi | Rugao | |
| 161 km or 100 mi | Hangzhou | |
| 177 km or 110 mi | Taixing | |
| 179 km or 111 mi | Hai'an | |
| 191 km or 119 mi | Liyang | |
| 197 km or 122 mi | Yangzhong | |
| 198 km or 123 mi | Guangde | |
| 201 km or 125 mi | Danyang | |
| 208 km or 129 mi | Taizhou | |
| 217 km or 135 mi | Dongtai | |
| 223 km or 139 mi | Zhenjiang | |
| 235 km or 146 mi | Yangzhou | |
| 236 km or 146 mi | Jurong | |
| 244 km or 152 mi | Ningguo | |
| 246 km or 153 mi | Yiwu | |
| 250 km or 155 mi | Xinghua | |
| 250 km or 156 mi | Yizheng | |
| 259 km or 161 mi | Linhai | |
| 260 km or 161 mi | Xuancheng | |
| 262 km or 163 mi | Gaoyou | |
| 274 km or 170 mi | Nanjing |