Shanghai vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1128
$878
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3104
$2307
🏠 One person rent
$605
$456
🏘️ Family rent
$1067
$808
🍽️ Food expenses
$289
$253
🚐 Transport expenses
$110
$83.4
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$931
$969
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
11 km
🎓 Higher education
100
96
😀 Quality of life
77
78
🏙️ Population
24.9M
17.5M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 29% more expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 4879th and 6334th ($1128 vs $878) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 5th and 17th 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 1383rd vs 1094th 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
$4.7
$3.52
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$40
$28.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.69
$4.93
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.47
$1.26
 Cappuccino
$3.79
$3.12
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.51
$0.5
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$848
$619
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$485
$350
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1510
$1122
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$875
$637
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.2
$40.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$52
$61.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$12.8
$12.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.36%
3.84%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14877
$12494
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7318
$5776
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.56
$0.42
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$31.8
$21
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.41
$4.58
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$1.16
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.11
$1.76
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.88
$1.92
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.34
$1.13
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.88
$1.82
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.7
$12.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.52
$3.43
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.6
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.26
$1.85
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.78
$1.36
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.8
$1.64
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.54
$1.24
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.81
$1.01
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$1.31
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.44
$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.27
$1.08
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.9
$12.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.86
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.02
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.07
$5.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6
$6.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.02
$1.65
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.12
$1.96
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$59.6
$43.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.24
$7.06
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$92.7
$34
💇 Haircut, simple
$12.1
$9.65
👖 Brand Jeans
$52.8
$47.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$75.1
$73.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1172
$444
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$27624
$22402

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
$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

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance City Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi Kowloon
$2414
30 km or 19 mi Hong Kong
$2718
58 km or 36 mi Zhuhai
$662
65 km or 40 mi Dongguan
$662
66 km or 41 mi Macau
$1746
72 km or 45 mi Zhongshan
$518
74 km or 46 mi Huizhou
$608
100 km or 62 mi Jiangmen
$829
105 km or 65 mi Guangzhou
$758
112 km or 69 mi Foshan
$589
134 km or 83 mi Shanwei
$941
142 km or 88 mi Kaiping
$827
150 km or 93 mi Heyuan
$766
164 km or 102 mi Qingyuan
$777
174 km or 108 mi Zhaoqing
$794
212 km or 131 mi Yunfu
$816
228 km or 142 mi Yangjiang
$892
233 km or 145 mi Puning
$579
256 km or 159 mi Shaoguan
$818
262 km or 163 mi Jieyang
$451
286 km or 178 mi Shantou
$589
288 km or 179 mi Meizhou
$669
292 km or 182 mi Chaozhou
$454
299 km or 186 mi Wuzhou
$809
303 km or 188 mi Lianzhou
$765
330 km or 205 mi Hezhou
$766
337 km or 209 mi Gaozhou
$780
337 km or 210 mi Maoming
$773
377 km or 234 mi Ganzhou
$897
378 km or 235 mi Chenzhou
$750
401 km or 249 mi Yulin
$726
405 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$790
415 km or 258 mi Longyan
$697
428 km or 266 mi Zhangzhou
$681
460 km or 286 mi Guigang
$693
464 km or 288 mi Xiamen
$707
477 km or 297 mi Haikou
$677
485 km or 301 mi Kinmen
$901
489 km or 304 mi Guilin
$546
502 km or 312 mi Yongzhou
$634