Seoul vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Seoul Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1383
$1128
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3421
$3104
🏠 One person rent
$635
$605
🏘️ Family rent
$1111
$1067
🍽️ Food expenses
$484
$289
🚐 Transport expenses
$152
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1954
$931
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
18 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
93
77
🏙️ Population
9.67M
24.9M

The cost of living in Seoul is 23% more expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 4296th and 4879th ($1383 vs $1128) 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 1.4 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 90th and 1383rd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Seoul vs Shanghai infographic

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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
$7.28
$4.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$43.1
$40
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.99
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.46
$1.47
☕ Cappuccino
$3.69
$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.66
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$764
$848
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$460
$485
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1372
$1510
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$841
$875
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$97.1
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$147
$52
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$16.8
$12.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.97%
3.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$20727
$14877
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10845
$7318
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.04
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$44.6
$31.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.78
$6.41
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.15
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.01
$2.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.68
$1.88
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.55
$1.34
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.27
$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.9
$15.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.59
$3.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$33
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.35
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.34
$1.78
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.41
$1.8
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.24
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.68
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.95
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.8
$0.44
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.8
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.6
$11.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.97
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.12
$3.02
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.56
$6.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.98
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.5
$2.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.3
$2.12
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$47.8
$59.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$10
$8.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$62.2
$92.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$16.7
$12.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$49.6
$52.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$67.5
$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$357
$1172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$21347
$27624

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Seoul

Distance City Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi Guri
$1134
17 km or 10 mi Goyang
$1097
17 km or 10 mi Gwangmyeong
$1090
17 km or 11 mi Gwacheon
$1078
19 km or 12 mi Uijeongbu
$918
20 km or 12 mi Hanam
$1178
20 km or 12 mi Namyangju
$1138
20 km or 13 mi Seongnam
$1435
21 km or 13 mi Siheung
$1307
21 km or 13 mi Bucheon
$1175
22 km or 14 mi Anyang
$1004
23 km or 14 mi Yangju
$948
24 km or 15 mi Gunpo
$1112
26 km or 16 mi Gimpo
$1098
27 km or 17 mi Uiwang
$1080
30 km or 19 mi Gwangju
$1196
32 km or 20 mi Paju
$1065
33 km or 20 mi Ansan
$1049
33 km or 21 mi Suwon
$1066
34 km or 21 mi Incheon
$1088
37 km or 23 mi Dongducheon
$1023
39 km or 24 mi Pocheon
$1028
42 km or 26 mi Yongin
$1120
47 km or 29 mi Hwaseong
$1098
49 km or 31 mi Osan
$1076
52 km or 32 mi Icheon
$1171
58 km or 36 mi Kaesong
$1568
65 km or 40 mi Yeoju
$1079
66 km or 41 mi Pyeongtaek
$1141
69 km or 43 mi Anseong
$1078
72 km or 45 mi Chuncheon
$874
83 km or 52 mi Dangjin
$1059
86 km or 53 mi Wonju
$1110
87 km or 54 mi Cheonan
$1153
101 km or 63 mi Seosan
$1068
107 km or 66 mi Chungju
$920
114 km or 71 mi Cheongju
$924
118 km or 73 mi Jecheon
$1037
123 km or 77 mi Haeju
$1565
124 km or 77 mi Sejong
$1020

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