Shanghai vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1097
$923
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3454
$1686
🏠 One person rent
$577
$540
🏘️ Family rent
$1404
$553
🍽️ Food expenses
$287
$231
🚐 Transport expenses
$110
$88.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1644
$1598
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
29 km
🎓 Higher education
100
63
😀 Quality of life
78
38
🏙️ Population
24.9M
1.27M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 19% more expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 4858th and 5917th ($1097 vs $923) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 6th in China and South Africa, respectively. Check China vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Shanghai compared to 1.7 months in Soweto. Shanghai ranked 4th best city to live in China vs Soweto ranked 10th in South Africa, while ranked 675th and 7204th among best cities to live in the world.

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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
$4.55
$6.16
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$39.8
$26.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.4
$3.92
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.45
$2
☕ Cappuccino
$3.93
$2.01
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.52
$0.98
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$823
$827
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$455
$346
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2226
$511
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1115
$396
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$33.5
$64.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$51.6
$100
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$14.8
$33.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.83%
11.66%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14361
$850
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8086
$691
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.55
$1.98
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.1
$31
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.85
$8.52
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$1.16
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.2
$1.02
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.95
$0.93
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$1.31
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$2.45
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.5
$7.54
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$4.06
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.9
$6.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$1.62
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.47
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$1.41
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.54
$1.46
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.86
$1.23
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$1.23
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$0.59
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.26
$1.17
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.2
$7.06
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.84
$1.43
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.39
$2.68
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.38
$2.86
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.95
$2.46
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.68
$1.17
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.27
$0.49
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$55.8
$12.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.1
$5.71
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$87.9
$21.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.1
$3
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.7
$45.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$75.8
$70.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1181
$200
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$30174
$3805

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
$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 Soweto

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Johannesburg
$993
24 km or 15 mi Randburg
$837
26 km or 16 mi Sandton
$953
46 km or 28 mi Vereeniging
$672
46 km or 29 mi Benoni
$785
48 km or 30 mi Vanderbijlpark
$773
56 km or 34 mi Centurion
$807
58 km or 36 mi Springs
$678
66 km or 41 mi Pretoria
$906
73 km or 45 mi Brits
$820
91 km or 56 mi Potchefstroom
$695
92 km or 57 mi Rustenburg
$889
137 km or 85 mi Klerksdorp
$722
159 km or 99 mi Bethal
$784
166 km or 103 mi Kroonstad
$768
170 km or 106 mi Middelburg
$795
222 km or 138 mi Welkom
$748
228 km or 142 mi Mmabatho
$780
249 km or 155 mi Lobatse
$665
266 km or 165 mi Gaborone
$691
282 km or 175 mi Butha-Buthe
$535
290 km or 180 mi Kanye
$664
315 km or 196 mi Molepolole
$628
321 km or 199 mi Teyateyaneng
$500
329 km or 204 mi Mbabane
$562
335 km or 208 mi Vryheid
$763
341 km or 212 mi Maseru
$621
350 km or 217 mi Manzini
$442
354 km or 220 mi Bloemfontein
$657
367 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$631
399 km or 248 mi Mafeteng
$567
412 km or 256 mi Kimberley
$814
420 km or 261 mi Palapye
$540
446 km or 277 mi Pietermaritzburg
$640
447 km or 278 mi Serowe
$583
461 km or 286 mi Matola
$964
472 km or 293 mi Maputo
$1068
506 km or 314 mi Durban
$809
567 km or 353 mi Francistown
$624
595 km or 370 mi Xai-Xai
$1003