Shanghai vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1136
$971
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3654
$1777
🏠 One person rent
$602
$568
🏘️ Family rent
$1527
$574
🍽️ Food expenses
$293
$243
🚐 Transport expenses
$116
$92.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1905
$1724
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
29 km
🎓 Higher education
100
62
😀 Quality of life
79
39
🏙️ Population
24.9M
1.27M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 17% more expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 4780th and 5883rd ($1136 vs $971) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 5th in China and South Africa, respectively. Check China vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Shanghai compared to 1.8 months in Soweto. Shanghai ranked 4th best city to live in China vs Soweto ranked 11th in South Africa, while ranked 571st and 7063rd among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Shanghai vs Soweto infographic

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Prices in Shanghai vs Soweto

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

Shanghai Soweto
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.99
$6.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$42.8
$28
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.51
$4.09
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.43
$2.03
 Cappuccino
$3.61
$2
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.53
$1.01
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$897
$883
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$461
$368
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2549
$544
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1181
$421
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$36.3
$61.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$56.1
$92.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$16.9
$35.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.28%
11.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$16156
$917
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8893
$735
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.57
$2.22
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$36.1
$32.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.13
$8.62
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.19
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.41
$1.04
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.99
$0.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$1.29
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.11
$2.68
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.8
$7.79
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.46
$4.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.4
$6.47
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.33
$1.63
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.53
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.05
$1.48
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$1.53
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$1.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$1.32
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$0.62
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.32
$1.23
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.2
$7.71
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.86
$1.52
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.51
$2.72
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.62
$3.04
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.04
$2.59
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.72
$1.25
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.03
$0.52
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$55
$13.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.47
$6.19
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$90.7
$22
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.9
$3.15
👖 Brand Jeans
$58.2
$50.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.6
$74.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1263
$216
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$31401
$4830

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
$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 Soweto

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Johannesburg
$1079
24 km or 15 mi Randburg
$874
26 km or 16 mi Sandton
$997
46 km or 28 mi Vereeniging
$717
46 km or 29 mi Benoni
$822
48 km or 30 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
56 km or 34 mi Centurion
$838
58 km or 36 mi Springs
$696
66 km or 41 mi Pretoria
$909
73 km or 45 mi Brits
$848
91 km or 56 mi Potchefstroom
$717
92 km or 57 mi Rustenburg
$943
137 km or 85 mi Klerksdorp
$689
159 km or 99 mi Bethal
$819
166 km or 103 mi Kroonstad
$788
170 km or 106 mi Middelburg
$841
222 km or 138 mi Welkom
$774
228 km or 142 mi Mmabatho
$809
249 km or 155 mi Lobatse
$692
266 km or 165 mi Gaborone
$718
282 km or 175 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
290 km or 180 mi Kanye
$690
315 km or 196 mi Molepolole
$654
321 km or 199 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
329 km or 204 mi Mbabane
$623
335 km or 208 mi Vryheid
$791
341 km or 212 mi Maseru
$627
350 km or 217 mi Manzini
$459
354 km or 220 mi Bloemfontein
$696
367 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$663
399 km or 248 mi Mafeteng
$581
412 km or 256 mi Kimberley
$859
420 km or 261 mi Palapye
$554
446 km or 277 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
447 km or 278 mi Serowe
$600
461 km or 286 mi Matola
$1003
472 km or 293 mi Maputo
$1116
506 km or 314 mi Durban
$834
567 km or 353 mi Francistown
$585
595 km or 370 mi Xai-Xai
$1045