Shanghai vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1190
$875
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3757
$1598
🏠 One person rent
$635
$511
🏘️ Family rent
$1613
$523
🍽️ Food expenses
$308
$215
🚐 Transport expenses
$117
$89.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1455
$1509
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
29 km
🎓 Higher education
100
62
😀 Quality of life
78
44
🏙️ Population
24.9M
1.27M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 36% more expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 4461st and 6110th ($1190 vs $875) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 4th in China and South Africa, respectively. Check China vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.2 months in Shanghai compared to 1.7 months in Soweto. Shanghai ranked 4th best city to live in China vs Soweto ranked 9th in South Africa, while ranked 558th and 6750th 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
$4.9
$5.93
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$40.7
$25.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.69
$3.62
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.7
$1.84
☕ Cappuccino
$3.83
$1.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.55
$0.87
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$901
$793
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$497
$327
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2595
$488
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1269
$379
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$39.1
$57.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$60.5
$88.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$17.9
$34
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.77%
11.13%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$17366
$731
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9346
$624
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.56
$1.98
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$37.3
$28.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6
$9.38
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.19
$1.11
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.55
$0.98
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.02
$0.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.09
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.21
$2.19
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.3
$7.01
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.12
$3.79
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.8
$5.78
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.27
$1.41
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.65
$1.3
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$1.27
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.52
$1.32
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.96
$1.14
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.04
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.39
$0.55
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.25
$1.11
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.7
$7.15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.9
$1.25
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.45
$2.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.43
$2.71
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.06
$2.33
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.68
$1.12
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2
$0.47
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$69.1
$12.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.16
$5.06
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$89.7
$20
💇 Haircut, simple
$12
$2.84
👖 Brand Jeans
$66.7
$43.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.5
$67.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1283
$202
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$28143
$2867

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
$1074
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$731
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$771
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$763
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$682
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$731
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$651
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$678
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$687
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$699
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$688
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$690
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$677
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$675
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$755
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$707
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$713
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$682
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$831
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$679
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$694
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$625
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$707
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$625
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$651
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$703
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$524
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$631
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$645
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$720
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$725
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$696
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$719
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$789
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$652
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$740

Cities near Soweto

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Johannesburg
$908
24 km or 15 mi Randburg
$776
26 km or 16 mi Sandton
$889
46 km or 28 mi Vereeniging
$637
46 km or 29 mi Benoni
$741
48 km or 30 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
56 km or 34 mi Centurion
$755
58 km or 36 mi Springs
$631
66 km or 41 mi Pretoria
$783
73 km or 45 mi Brits
$751
91 km or 56 mi Potchefstroom
$625
92 km or 57 mi Rustenburg
$845
137 km or 85 mi Klerksdorp
$621
159 km or 99 mi Bethal
$746
166 km or 103 mi Kroonstad
$701
170 km or 106 mi Middelburg
$866
222 km or 138 mi Welkom
$682
228 km or 142 mi Mmabatho
$719
249 km or 155 mi Lobatse
$631
266 km or 165 mi Gaborone
$656
282 km or 175 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
290 km or 180 mi Kanye
$633
315 km or 196 mi Molepolole
$603
321 km or 199 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
329 km or 204 mi Mbabane
$558
335 km or 208 mi Vryheid
$739
341 km or 212 mi Maseru
$535
350 km or 217 mi Manzini
$447
354 km or 220 mi Bloemfontein
$601
367 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$605
399 km or 248 mi Mafeteng
$511
412 km or 256 mi Kimberley
$753
420 km or 261 mi Palapye
$511
446 km or 277 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
447 km or 278 mi Serowe
$554
461 km or 286 mi Matola
$978
472 km or 293 mi Maputo
$1084
506 km or 314 mi Durban
$780
567 km or 353 mi Francistown
$550
595 km or 370 mi Xai-Xai
$952