Shanghai vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1126
$939
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3097
$2444
🏠 One person rent
$600
$507
🏘️ Family rent
$1068
$900
🍽️ Food expenses
$293
$261
🚐 Transport expenses
$108
$83.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$879
$1024
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
11 km
🎓 Higher education
99
95
😀 Quality of life
75
77
🏙️ Population
24.9M
17.5M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 20% more expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 4971st and 6106th ($1126 vs $939) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 5th and 12th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in Shanghai compared to 1.1 months in Shenzhen. Ranked 4th vs 3rd best cities to live in China, and 1655th vs 1113th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$5.01
$3.57
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$36.1
$28.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.51
$4.49
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.69
$1.45
☕ Cappuccino
$3.77
$3.3
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.54
$0.51
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$803
$652
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$486
$403
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1462
$1182
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$880
$735
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$37.5
$41.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$58.6
$63.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13
$12.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.34%
3.65%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14215
$13180
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7113
$5913
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.47
$0.43
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$30.1
$21.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.45
$4.54
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.15
$1.14
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.94
$1.75
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.8
$1.86
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.3
$1.17
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.79
$1.86
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.2
$14.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.91
$3.7
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.6
$13.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.35
$1.99
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.74
$1.44
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.78
$1.61
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.76
$1.26
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.89
$1.01
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.04
$1.36
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.45
$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.27
$1.13
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.5
$13.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.92
$0.94
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.46
$3.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.19
$5.47
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.91
$7.02
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.07
$1.71
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.21
$2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$61.9
$49.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.84
$7.18
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$94.1
$34.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$12
$10.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$50.6
$46.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.8
$73.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1114
$510
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$27781
$22916

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance City Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi Kowloon
$2415
30 km or 19 mi Hong Kong
$2674
58 km or 36 mi Zhuhai
$674
65 km or 40 mi Dongguan
$666
66 km or 41 mi Macau
$1718
72 km or 45 mi Zhongshan
$534
74 km or 46 mi Huizhou
$621
100 km or 62 mi Jiangmen
$848
105 km or 65 mi Guangzhou
$782
112 km or 69 mi Foshan
$611
134 km or 83 mi Shanwei
$943
142 km or 88 mi Kaiping
$844
150 km or 93 mi Heyuan
$765
164 km or 102 mi Qingyuan
$795
174 km or 108 mi Zhaoqing
$807
212 km or 131 mi Yunfu
$832
228 km or 142 mi Yangjiang
$896
233 km or 145 mi Puning
$589
256 km or 159 mi Shaoguan
$807
262 km or 163 mi Jieyang
$464
286 km or 178 mi Shantou
$602
288 km or 179 mi Meizhou
$673
292 km or 182 mi Chaozhou
$465
299 km or 186 mi Wuzhou
$816
303 km or 188 mi Lianzhou
$760
330 km or 205 mi Hezhou
$769
337 km or 209 mi Gaozhou
$790
337 km or 210 mi Maoming
$789
377 km or 234 mi Ganzhou
$814
378 km or 235 mi Chenzhou
$730
401 km or 249 mi Yulin
$738
405 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$805
415 km or 258 mi Longyan
$698
428 km or 266 mi Zhangzhou
$696
460 km or 286 mi Guigang
$699
464 km or 288 mi Xiamen
$723
477 km or 297 mi Haikou
$694
485 km or 301 mi Kinmen
$903
489 km or 304 mi Guilin
$533
502 km or 312 mi Yongzhou
$638