Shanghai vs Taipei - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Taipei
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1097
$1181
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3454
$3254
🏠 One person rent
$577
$567
🏘️ Family rent
$1404
$1230
🍽️ Food expenses
$287
$408
🚐 Transport expenses
$110
$104
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1644
$1684
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
3 km
🎓 Higher education
100
95
😀 Quality of life
78
86
🏙️ Population
24.9M
2.6M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 7% less expensive than in Taipei. Cities ranked 4858th and 4534th ($1097 vs $1181) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 1st in China and Taiwan, respectively. Check China vs Taiwan comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Shanghai compared to 1.4 months in Taipei. Shanghai ranked 4th best city to live in China vs Taipei ranked 2nd in Taiwan, while ranked 675th and 339th 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 Taipei infographic

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Prices in Shanghai vs Taipei

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

Shanghai Taipei
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.55
$6.07
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$39.8
$30.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.4
$4.98
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.45
$2.83
 Cappuccino
$3.93
$3.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.52
$1.01
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$823
$613
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$455
$468
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2226
$1547
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1115
$1030
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$33.5
$46.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$51.6
$72.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$14.8
$23.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.83%
2.1%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14361
$13635
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8086
$6907
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.55
$0.76
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.1
$36.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.85
$8.61
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$0.97
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.2
$2.83
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.95
$1.77
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$2.79
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$2.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.5
$17.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$8.99
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.9
$19.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$4.64
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$2.46
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$2.61
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.54
$3.61
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.86
$2.67
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$2.2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$0.79
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.26
$1.73
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.2
$12.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.84
$1.61
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.39
$3.65
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.38
$9.28
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.95
$7.96
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.68
$1.51
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.27
$2.7
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$55.8
$38.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.1
$9.78
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$87.9
$32.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.1
$15.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.7
$56.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$75.8
$85.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1181
$617
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$30174
$19749

Cost of living in other countries

ShanghaiTaipei

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More cities to compare

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 Taipei

Distance City Cost of living
9.6 km or 6 mi New Taipei
$1073
23 km or 14 mi Keelung
$967
39 km or 24 mi Taoyuan
$875
39 km or 24 mi Yilan
$731
58 km or 36 mi Zhubei
$821
63 km or 39 mi Hsinchu
$897
89 km or 56 mi Miaoli
$728
133 km or 82 mi Taichung
$894
149 km or 92 mi Changhua
$813
152 km or 95 mi Nantou
$796
180 km or 112 mi Douliu
$770
206 km or 128 mi Chiayi
$747
252 km or 157 mi Fuzhou
$669
257 km or 160 mi Putian
$625
258 km or 160 mi Taitung
$788
267 km or 166 mi Tainan
$814
270 km or 168 mi Ningde
$648
276 km or 172 mi Ishigaki
$1155
297 km or 185 mi Quanzhou
$644
298 km or 185 mi Kaohsiung
$956
299 km or 186 mi Jinjiang
$627
316 km or 196 mi Rui'an
$681
330 km or 205 mi Kinmen
$823
340 km or 211 mi Wenzhou
$726
354 km or 220 mi Xiamen
$688
371 km or 230 mi Wenling
$671
379 km or 235 mi Miyakojima
$1154
380 km or 236 mi Nanping
$630
395 km or 246 mi Zhangzhou
$664
411 km or 255 mi Lishui
$682
414 km or 257 mi Sanming
$603
425 km or 264 mi Linhai
$661
454 km or 282 mi Longyan
$649
461 km or 286 mi Wuyishan
$601
488 km or 303 mi Jinhua
$587
495 km or 308 mi Yiwu
$677
508 km or 316 mi Quzhou
$616
518 km or 322 mi Shangrao
$671
520 km or 323 mi Chaozhou
$451
525 km or 326 mi Shantou
$581