Shanghai vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1097
$916
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3454
$2694
🏠 One person rent
$577
$478
🏘️ Family rent
$1404
$1142
🍽️ Food expenses
$287
$261
🚐 Transport expenses
$110
$85.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1644
$1771
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
11 km
🎓 Higher education
100
96
😀 Quality of life
78
80
🏙️ Population
24.9M
17.7M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 20% more expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 4858th and 5950th ($1097 vs $916) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 12th in China.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Shanghai compared to 1.9 months in Shenzhen. Ranked 4th vs 3rd best cities to live in China, and 675th vs 545th 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
$4.55
$3.06
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$39.8
$27.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.4
$5.23
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.45
$1.11
 Cappuccino
$3.93
$3.03
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.52
$0.46
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$823
$667
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$455
$360
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2226
$1650
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1115
$917
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$33.5
$43.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$51.6
$65.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$14.8
$13.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.83%
4.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14361
$12583
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8086
$6551
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.55
$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.1
$23.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.85
$4.51
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.2
$1.87
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.95
$1.89
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$1.18
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$1.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.5
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$4.43
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.9
$13.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$1.9
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.4
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$1.73
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.54
$1.5
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.86
$1.08
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$1.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.26
$1.05
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.2
$12.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.84
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.39
$3.79
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.38
$5.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.95
$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.68
$1.63
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.27
$1.91
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$55.8
$48.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.1
$6.86
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$87.9
$33.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.1
$9.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.7
$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$75.8
$78
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1181
$502
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$30174
$22267

Cost of living in other countries

ShanghaiShenzhen

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
$984
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$665
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$700
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$868
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$573
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$631
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$645
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$602
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$640
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$670
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$670
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$657
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$590
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$708
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$643
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$716
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$695
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$702
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$644
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$805
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$643
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$654
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$603
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$650
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$607
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$644
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$665
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$522
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$620
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$621
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$642
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$677
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$665
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$592
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$672
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$621
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$746

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance City Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi Kowloon
$2432
30 km or 19 mi Hong Kong
$2737
58 km or 36 mi Zhuhai
$653
65 km or 40 mi Dongguan
$656
66 km or 41 mi Macau
$1588
72 km or 45 mi Zhongshan
$461
74 km or 46 mi Huizhou
$601
100 km or 62 mi Jiangmen
$804
105 km or 65 mi Guangzhou
$774
112 km or 69 mi Foshan
$611
134 km or 83 mi Shanwei
$936
142 km or 88 mi Kaiping
$812
150 km or 93 mi Heyuan
$764
164 km or 102 mi Qingyuan
$794
174 km or 108 mi Zhaoqing
$793
212 km or 131 mi Yunfu
$823
228 km or 142 mi Yangjiang
$877
233 km or 145 mi Puning
$569
256 km or 159 mi Shaoguan
$818
262 km or 163 mi Jieyang
$443
286 km or 178 mi Shantou
$581
288 km or 179 mi Meizhou
$655
292 km or 182 mi Chaozhou
$451
299 km or 186 mi Wuzhou
$803
303 km or 188 mi Lianzhou
$755
330 km or 205 mi Hezhou
$758
337 km or 209 mi Gaozhou
$761
337 km or 210 mi Maoming
$756
377 km or 234 mi Ganzhou
$761
378 km or 235 mi Chenzhou
$724
401 km or 249 mi Yulin
$771
405 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$764
415 km or 258 mi Longyan
$649
428 km or 266 mi Zhangzhou
$664
460 km or 286 mi Guigang
$702
464 km or 288 mi Xiamen
$688
477 km or 297 mi Haikou
$650
485 km or 301 mi Kinmen
$823
489 km or 304 mi Guilin
$522
502 km or 312 mi Yongzhou
$609