Shanghai vs Tokyo - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Shanghai Tokyo
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1097
$1607
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3454
$4239
🏠 One person rent
$577
$789
🏘️ Family rent
$1404
$1714
🍽️ Food expenses
$287
$423
🚐 Transport expenses
$110
$282
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1644
$2474
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
15 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
78
99
🏙️ Population
24.9M
14.3M

The cost of living in Shanghai is 32% less expensive than in Tokyo. Cities ranked 4858th and 3019th ($1097 vs $1607) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 6th and 3rd in China and Japan, respectively. Check China vs Japan comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Shanghai compared to 1.5 months in Tokyo. Shanghai ranked 4th best city to live in China vs Tokyo ranked 1st in Japan, while ranked 675th and 3rd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Shanghai vs Tokyo infographic

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Prices in Shanghai vs Tokyo

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

Shanghai Tokyo
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.55
$6.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$39.8
$42.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.4
$5.36
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.45
$3.62
 Cappuccino
$3.93
$3.42
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.52
$1.13
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$823
$1018
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$455
$562
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2226
$2660
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1115
$1239
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$33.5
$104
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$51.6
$159
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$14.8
$32
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.83%
1.77%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$14361
$10251
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$8086
$5162
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.55
$1.33
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.1
$58.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.85
$27.7
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.13
$1.18
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.2
$1.53
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.95
$1.38
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$3.36
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$2.12
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.5
$15
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$7.35
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.9
$21.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$4.81
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$2.4
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$5.57
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.54
$4.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.86
$2.78
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$2.86
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.37
$0.63
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.26
$1.39
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.2
$7.98
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.84
$2.08
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.39
$4.05
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.38
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.95
$3.36
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.68
$1.47
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.27
$1.45
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$55.8
$63.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.1
$12.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$87.9
$29.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.1
$22.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.7
$54.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$75.8
$65.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1181
$553
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$30174
$15235

Cost of living in other countries

ShanghaiTokyo

Cost of living

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 Tokyo

Distance City Cost of living
12 km or 7.3 mi Musashino
$1136
12 km or 7.4 mi Komae
$1124
12 km or 7.5 mi Mitaka
$1150
13 km or 8 mi Wako
$1098
13 km or 8.4 mi Kawaguchi
$1081
14 km or 8.5 mi Hirai
$1089
14 km or 8.9 mi Toda
$1041
14 km or 8.9 mi Chofu
$1138
14 km or 9 mi Nishitokyo
$1137
15 km or 9.3 mi Asaka
$1088
15 km or 9.4 mi Warabi
$1033
16 km or 10 mi Niiza
$1107
17 km or 10 mi Higashikurume
$1111
17 km or 11 mi Koganei
$1103
18 km or 11 mi Kawasaki-ku
$1128
18 km or 11 mi Inagi
$1084
18 km or 11 mi Soka
$1104
18 km or 11 mi Kiyose
$1105
19 km or 12 mi Shiki
$1066
19 km or 12 mi Kawasaki
$1249
19 km or 12 mi Urayasu
$1099
20 km or 12 mi Fuchu
$1122
20 km or 12 mi Saitama
$1196
20 km or 12 mi Kodaira
$1124
20 km or 12 mi Yashio
$1071
21 km or 13 mi Kokubunji
$1099
21 km or 13 mi Higashimurayama
$1114
21 km or 13 mi Miyoshi
$1088
22 km or 14 mi Ichikawa
$1045
22 km or 14 mi Matsudo
$1164
23 km or 14 mi Misato
$1071
23 km or 14 mi Fujimi
$1084
23 km or 14 mi Kunitachi
$1089
23 km or 14 mi Tama
$1065
24 km or 15 mi Tokorozawa
$1169
24 km or 15 mi Koshigaya
$1164
25 km or 15 mi Tachikawa
$1109
25 km or 15 mi Higashiyamato
$1103
26 km or 16 mi Yoshikawa
$1090
26 km or 16 mi Fujimino
$1101