Shanghai vs Sydney - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Sydney
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1126
$2844
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3097
$6700
🏠 One person rent
$600
$1749
🏘️ Family rent
$1068
$3002
🍽️ Food expenses
$293
$597
🚐 Transport expenses
$108
$337
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$879
$4145
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
9 km
🎓 Higher education
99
99
😀 Quality of life
75
98
🏙️ Population
24.9M
5.45M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 60% less expensive than in Sydney. Cities ranked 4971st and 348th ($1126 vs $2844) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 5th and 1st in China and Australia, respectively. Check China vs Australia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in Shanghai compared to 1.5 months in Sydney. Shanghai ranked 4th best city to live in China vs Sydney ranked 2nd in Australia, while ranked 1655th and 2nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Shanghai vs Sydney

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

Shanghai Sydney
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$5.01
$15.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$36.1
$79.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.51
$11.2
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.69
$7.36
☕ Cappuccino
$3.77
$3.85
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.54
$2.82
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$803
$2123
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$486
$1437
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1462
$3835
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$880
$2492
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$37.5
$123
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$58.6
$190
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$13
$51.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.34%
6.09%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14215
$13218
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7113
$7866
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.47
$3.77
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$30.1
$118
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.45
$20.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.15
$1.37
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.94
$1.84
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.8
$2.46
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.3
$2.13
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.79
$5.78
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.2
$13.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.91
$9.78
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.6
$15.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.35
$3.56
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.74
$3.1
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.78
$3.24
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.76
$4.66
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.89
$2.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.04
$2.53
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.45
$0.82
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.27
$2.8
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.5
$15.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.92
$4.69
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.46
$24.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.19
$9.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.91
$4.93
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.07
$3.1
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.21
$3.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$61.9
$63.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.84
$16.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$94.1
$70.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$12
$21.7
👖 Brand Jeans
$50.6
$80.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.8
$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1114
$2281
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$27781
$21946

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
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765

Cities near Sydney

Distance City Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi Dee Why
$2379
19 km or 12 mi Parramatta
$2482
29 km or 18 mi Kellyville
$2050
29 km or 18 mi Blacktown
$1710
69 km or 43 mi Wollongong
$1695
117 km or 73 mi Newcastle
$1997
158 km or 98 mi Bathurst
$1699
168 km or 104 mi Goulburn
$1821
205 km or 127 mi Orange
$1477
247 km or 154 mi Canberra
$2223
301 km or 187 mi Dubbo
$1867
314 km or 195 mi Port Macquarie
$1796
377 km or 234 mi Armidale
$1288
378 km or 235 mi Wagga Wagga
$1583
436 km or 271 mi Coffs Harbour
$2172
478 km or 297 mi Griffith
$1824
597 km or 371 mi Shepparton
$1815
624 km or 388 mi Byron Bay
$2703
638 km or 396 mi Traralgon
$1979
683 km or 425 mi Gold Coast
$2528
689 km or 428 mi Southport
$2352
695 km or 432 mi Pakenham
$1896
701 km or 436 mi Berwick
$1860
706 km or 439 mi Bendigo
$1487
706 km or 439 mi Toowoomba
$1766
707 km or 439 mi Dandenong
$1894
711 km or 442 mi Ipswich
$1813
711 km or 442 mi Cranbourne
$1798
713 km or 443 mi South Yarra
$1829
713 km or 443 mi Melbourne
$2496
716 km or 445 mi Sunbury
$1928
724 km or 450 mi Frankston
$1889
732 km or 455 mi Melton
$1906
733 km or 455 mi Brisbane
$2269
735 km or 457 mi Tarneit
$1822
736 km or 457 mi Hoppers Crossing
$1854
775 km or 481 mi Caboolture
$1988
778 km or 484 mi Geelong
$2217
779 km or 484 mi Ballarat
$1604
807 km or 502 mi Caloundra
$1864