Shanghai vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1136
$958
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3654
$2895
🏠 One person rent
$602
$495
🏘️ Family rent
$1527
$1237
🍽️ Food expenses
$293
$274
🚐 Transport expenses
$116
$96.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1905
$1649
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
11 km
🎓 Higher education
100
96
😀 Quality of life
79
79
🏙️ Population
24.9M
17.7M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 19% more expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 4780th and 5948th ($1136 vs $958) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 13th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Shanghai compared to 1.7 months in Shenzhen. Ranked 4th vs 3rd best cities to live in China, and 571st vs 556th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Shanghai vs Shenzhen infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Shanghai vs Shenzhen

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

Shanghai Shenzhen
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.99
$3.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$42.8
$28.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.51
$5.73
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.43
$1.13
☕ Cappuccino
$3.61
$3.24
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.53
$0.49
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$897
$713
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$461
$370
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2549
$1800
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1181
$997
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$36.3
$41.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$56.1
$63.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$16.9
$15
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.28%
4.47%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$16156
$13100
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8893
$6892
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.57
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$36.1
$28.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.13
$4.62
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.19
$1.21
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.41
$2.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.99
$2.14
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$1.16
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.11
$2.02
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.8
$12.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.46
$4.65
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.4
$13.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.33
$1.95
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.41
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.05
$1.71
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$1.48
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$1.02
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.32
$1.08
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.2
$13.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.86
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.51
$3.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.62
$5.44
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.04
$5.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.72
$1.69
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.03
$1.96
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$55
$43.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.47
$7.07
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$90.7
$33.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.9
$10.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$58.2
$61.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.6
$79.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1263
$605
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$31401
$24117

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1028
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$706
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$749
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$738
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$585
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$661
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$718
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$620
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$676
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$706
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$685
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$612
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$733
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$674
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$742
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$702
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$729
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$674
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$843
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$676
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$690
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$629
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$698
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$630
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$673
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$698
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$650
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$651
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$703
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$708
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$699
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$702
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$771
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$648
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$774

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance City Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi Kowloon
$2427
30 km or 19 mi Hong Kong
$2753
58 km or 36 mi Zhuhai
$641
65 km or 40 mi Dongguan
$678
66 km or 41 mi Macau
$1590
72 km or 45 mi Zhongshan
$491
74 km or 46 mi Huizhou
$629
100 km or 62 mi Jiangmen
$830
105 km or 65 mi Guangzhou
$763
112 km or 69 mi Foshan
$602
134 km or 83 mi Shanwei
$1014
142 km or 88 mi Kaiping
$824
150 km or 93 mi Heyuan
$801
164 km or 102 mi Qingyuan
$808
174 km or 108 mi Zhaoqing
$806
212 km or 131 mi Yunfu
$839
228 km or 142 mi Yangjiang
$895
233 km or 145 mi Puning
$726
256 km or 159 mi Shaoguan
$852
262 km or 163 mi Jieyang
$691
286 km or 178 mi Shantou
$605
288 km or 179 mi Meizhou
$795
292 km or 182 mi Chaozhou
$592
299 km or 186 mi Wuzhou
$819
303 km or 188 mi Lianzhou
$783
330 km or 205 mi Hezhou
$780
337 km or 209 mi Gaozhou
$774
337 km or 210 mi Maoming
$774
377 km or 234 mi Ganzhou
$813
378 km or 235 mi Chenzhou
$746
401 km or 249 mi Yulin
$794
405 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$781
415 km or 258 mi Longyan
$713
428 km or 266 mi Zhangzhou
$731
460 km or 286 mi Guigang
$725
464 km or 288 mi Xiamen
$807
477 km or 297 mi Haikou
$671
485 km or 301 mi Kinmen
$821
489 km or 304 mi Guilin
$538
502 km or 312 mi Yongzhou
$618