Shanghai vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Shanghai Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1183
$1043
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3810
$2884
🏠 One person rent
$625
$550
🏘️ Family rent
$1670
$1101
🍽️ Food expenses
$314
$295
🚐 Transport expenses
$106
$93.1
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1346
$1453
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
11 km
🎓 Higher education
100
95
😀 Quality of life
79
81
🏙️ Population
24.9M
17.5M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 13% more expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 4359th and 5064th ($1183 vs $1043) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 11th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.1 months in Shanghai compared to 1.4 months in Shenzhen. Ranked 4th vs 3rd best cities to live in China, and 473rd vs 367th 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

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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
$5.2
$5.22
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$42.9
$31.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.65
$5.12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.73
$3.33
☕ Cappuccino
$4
$4.23
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.55
$0.49
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$899
$716
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$484
$433
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2594
$1562
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1339
$881
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$40.9
$43.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$63.3
$67.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$16.6
$16.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.84%
4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$17716
$16848
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9564
$7920
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.57
$0.56
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$30.8
$25.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.76
$5.17
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.2
$1.11
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.56
$2.37
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.47
$1.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.69
$2.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.2
$17.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.39
$5.02
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.6
$14.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$2.05
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$1.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.08
$1.77
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.6
$1.53
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.87
$1.14
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.06
$1.17
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.19
$1.56
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.4
$14.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.9
$0.81
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.52
$3.32
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.19
$4.15
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.67
$5.37
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.57
$1.82
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.82
$1.75
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$55.8
$40
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.77
$7.02
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$103
$59.5
💇 Haircut, simple
$12.7
$8.82
👖 Brand Jeans
$68.6
$67.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$82.6
$80.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1302
$710
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$24851
$24732

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
$1064
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$770
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$815
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$797
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1073
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$695
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$743
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$781
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$756
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$696
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$813
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$722
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$722
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$668
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$844
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$707
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$762
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$743
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$752
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$717
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$849
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$687
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$704
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$712
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$635
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$718
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$654
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$634
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$716
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$590
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$659
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$664
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$712
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$734
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$707
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$635
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$744
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$755
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$655
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$762

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance City Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi Kowloon
$2411
30 km or 19 mi Hong Kong
$2720
58 km or 36 mi Zhuhai
$657
65 km or 40 mi Dongguan
$726
66 km or 41 mi Macau
$1601
72 km or 45 mi Zhongshan
$576
74 km or 46 mi Huizhou
$608
100 km or 62 mi Jiangmen
$692
105 km or 65 mi Guangzhou
$760
112 km or 69 mi Foshan
$605
134 km or 83 mi Shanwei
$1073
142 km or 88 mi Kaiping
$797
150 km or 93 mi Heyuan
$866
164 km or 102 mi Qingyuan
$795
174 km or 108 mi Zhaoqing
$766
212 km or 131 mi Yunfu
$798
228 km or 142 mi Yangjiang
$811
233 km or 145 mi Puning
$928
256 km or 159 mi Shaoguan
$819
262 km or 163 mi Jieyang
$957
286 km or 178 mi Shantou
$989
288 km or 179 mi Meizhou
$847
292 km or 182 mi Chaozhou
$808
299 km or 186 mi Wuzhou
$788
303 km or 188 mi Lianzhou
$773
330 km or 205 mi Hezhou
$771
337 km or 209 mi Gaozhou
$562
337 km or 210 mi Maoming
$495
377 km or 234 mi Ganzhou
$831
378 km or 235 mi Chenzhou
$811
401 km or 249 mi Yulin
$664
405 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$565
415 km or 258 mi Longyan
$508
428 km or 266 mi Zhangzhou
$753
460 km or 286 mi Guigang
$644
464 km or 288 mi Xiamen
$792
477 km or 297 mi Haikou
$620
485 km or 301 mi Kinmen
$865
489 km or 304 mi Guilin
$521
502 km or 312 mi Yongzhou
$626