Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Artem and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Artem: $1,095 a month against $1,250 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Shanghai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

54

Cost of Living Index in Artem
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Artem Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Artem

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,095

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Artem and in Shanghai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Artem and in Shanghai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,095 in Artem versus $1,250 in Shanghai.

Artem $1,095
Shanghai $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,729 in Artem versus $2,019 in Shanghai.

Artem $1,729
Shanghai $2,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,362 in Artem versus $2,789 in Shanghai.

Artem $2,362
Shanghai $2,789

Living in Artem costs roughly 12% less than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Artem 18% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.95 ₽1,017

$4.55 ¥30.40

162.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.43 ₽3,015

$29.52 ¥197

20.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.30 ₽536

$5.10 ¥34.08

23.53%

Cappuccino

$3.02 ₽257

$3.42 ¥22.88

-11.70%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.04 ₽88.6

$0.61 ¥4.11

70.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 ₽58.5

$0.36 ¥2.40

91.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 ₽123

$1.21 ¥8.07

19.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ₽196

$2.29 ¥15.31

0.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 ₽143

$1.86 ¥12.46

-9.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 ₽56.0

$2.01 ¥13.45

-67.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ₽137

$1.02 ¥6.83

57.84%

Eggs

$2.34 ₽199

$1.72 ¥11.46

36.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.16 ₽1,120

$17.19 ¥115

-23.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 ₽530

$3.35 ¥22.39

85.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.07 ₽942

$12.80 ¥85.5

-13.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 ₽247

$2.17 ¥14.51

33.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 ₽177

$1.74 ¥11.65

19.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.69 ₽229

$1.94 ¥12.96

38.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.12 ₽351

$1.68 ¥11.23

145.24%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 ₽83.3

$0.77 ¥5.17

27.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 ₽87.7

$0.93 ¥6.21

10.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ₽110

$0.62 ¥4.16

108.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 ₽89.3

$0.58 ¥3.88

81.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.91 ₽248

$3.83 ¥25.60

-24.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.61 ₽648

$10.94 ¥73.1

-30.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 ₽98.6

$0.84 ¥5.59

38.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ₽196

$1.60 ¥10.71

43.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.56 ₽47.30

$0.59 ¥3.92

-5.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.27 ¥202

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.40 ₽204

$2.06 ¥13.77

16.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 ₽29.07

$0.47 ¥3.13

-27.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.89 ₽501

$8.80 ¥58.8

-33.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 ₽72.8

$1.27 ¥8.51

-32.28%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$44.8K ₽3.8M

$19.6K ¥131.0K

128.84%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$35.2K ₽3.0M

$18.6K ¥124.2K

89.49%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$153 ₽13.0K

$57.2 ¥382

167.45%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$8.22 ₽699

$8.06 ¥53.8

1.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.21 ₽784

$10.52 ¥70.3

-12.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.85 ₽3,221

$64.6 ¥432

-41.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.31 ₽1,728

$17.63 ¥118

15.20%

Cinema Ticket

$5.34 ₽454

$8.84 ¥59.1

-39.59%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$348 ₽29.6K

$1,437 ¥9,605

-75.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,051 ₽514.9K

$28.1K ¥187.5K

-78.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.1 ₽6,643

$54.7 ¥365

42.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.6 ₽4,389

$36.43 ¥243

41.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.2 ₽8,270

$75.4 ¥504

28.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 ₽10.6K

$104 ¥695

20.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 ₽32.9K

$1,039 ¥6,945

-62.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$312 ₽26.5K

$589 ¥3,933

-47.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 ₽83.7K

$2,487 ¥16.6K

-60.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₽53.5K

$1,237 ¥8,268

-49.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,160 ₽183.8K

$13.6K ¥90.8K

-84.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,297 ₽110.3K

$6,191 ¥41.4K

-79.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,715 ¥11.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

23.6

3.36

602.38%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Artem: October 4, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Artem

$312 28%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 88.8% $277

Groceries & Markets

Artem

$250 22.4%

Shanghai

$237 19% 5.2% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Artem

$170 15.3%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 55.5% $95

Eating Out

Artem

$170 15.2%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 36.7% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Artem

$158 14.2%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 23.1% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Artem

$49 4.4%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 69.6% $34

Getting Around

Artem

$6.3 * 0.6%

Shanghai

$37 3% 485% $31

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $387 in Artem and $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Artem vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $237 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Artem

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

21:16 9:16 PM

19:16 7:16 PM

2 h behind Artem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

104,926

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.18 USD

100 RUB = 1.05 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 85.09 RUB (100 RUB = 1.18 USD). 1 EUR = 95.35 RUB (100 RUB = 1.05 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

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Between locations

Artem Shanghai 1,650 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Artem
Shanghai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Artem vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Artem wins on cost – living expenses run 14% lower than in Shanghai. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Artem the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,643 in Artem and $1,874 in Shanghai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $387 in Artem versus $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $348 in Artem versus $1,437 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Artem – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $30.00 in Shanghai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,095 in Artem versus $1,250 in Shanghai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Artem but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Artem the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Artem gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.