Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Darwin and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,250 a month against $3,070 in Darwin, rent and utilities included – about $21,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

149

Cost of Living Index in Darwin
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Darwin Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Darwin

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,070

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Darwin 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 Darwin and in Shanghai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,070 in Darwin versus $1,250 in Shanghai.

Darwin $3,070
Shanghai $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,116 in Darwin versus $2,019 in Shanghai.

Darwin $4,116
Shanghai $2,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,163 in Darwin versus $2,789 in Shanghai.

Darwin $5,163
Shanghai $2,789

Living in Darwin is roughly 146% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Darwin is 129% above, Shanghai is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 A$32.37

$4.55 ¥30.45

395.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.0 A$129

$29.52 ¥198

204.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.96 A$15.75

$5.10 ¥34.13

114.90%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.84

$3.42 ¥22.92

19.01%

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

$3.31 A$4.76

$0.61 ¥4.12

442.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 A$4.44

$0.36 ¥2.41

758.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.54 A$10.83

$1.21 ¥8.08

523.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.41 A$10.65

$2.29 ¥15.33

223.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.14

$1.86 ¥12.48

-19.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.26

$2.01 ¥13.47

47.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 A$3.13

$1.02 ¥6.84

113.73%

Eggs

$4.35 A$6.25

$1.72 ¥11.48

152.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.91 A$12.79

$17.19 ¥115

-48.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.49 A$12.19

$3.35 ¥22.43

153.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.27 A$13.32

$12.80 ¥85.7

-27.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.91 A$5.61

$2.17 ¥14.54

80.18%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 A$4.11

$1.74 ¥11.67

64.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.81 A$4.03

$1.94 ¥12.99

44.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.15 A$7.40

$1.68 ¥11.25

206.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 A$3.63

$0.77 ¥5.18

228.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.48

$0.93 ¥6.22

160.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.07 A$2.97

$0.62 ¥4.17

233.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 A$3.04

$0.58 ¥3.88

265.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.93 A$63.1

$3.83 ¥25.64

1047.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.81 A$16.97

$10.94 ¥73.2

7.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$10.12 A$14.53

$0.84 ¥5.60

1104.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.83 A$11.24

$1.60 ¥10.73

389.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 ¥3.92

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.01 A$69.0

$30.27 ¥203

58.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.72 A$5.34

$2.06 ¥13.79

80.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.32 A$1.89

$0.47 ¥3.13

180.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$49.60 A$71.3

$8.80 ¥58.9

463.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 A$1.85

$1.27 ¥8.53

1.57%

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

$31.4K A$45.1K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

60.22%

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

$41.5K A$59.6K

$18.6K ¥124.4K

123.43%

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

$216 A$310

$57.2 ¥383

276.95%

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

$33.26 A$47.77

$8.06 ¥53.9

312.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.3 A$88.0

$10.52 ¥70.4

482.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.7 A$115

$64.6 ¥433

23.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.11 A$40.37

$17.63 ¥118

59.44%

Cinema Ticket

$17.07 A$24.51

$8.84 ¥59.1

93.10%

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

$1,924 A$2,763

$1,437 ¥9,620

33.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,239 A$11.8K

$28.1K ¥187.9K

-70.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.2 A$119

$54.7 ¥366

52.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.11 A$66.2

$36.43 ¥244

26.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 A$150

$75.4 ¥504

38.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 A$199

$104 ¥696

33.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,716 A$2,465

$1,039 ¥6,956

65.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,670 A$2,399

$589 ¥3,940

183.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,712 A$3,895

$2,487 ¥16.6K

9.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,156 A$3,097

$1,237 ¥8,282

74.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,794 A$5,449

$13.6K ¥90.9K

-72.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,538 A$5,081

$6,191 ¥41.4K

-42.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,166 A$5,984

$1,715 ¥11.5K

142.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.14

3.36

82.74%

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

Last update for Darwin: October 5, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Darwin

$1.7K 55%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 64.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Darwin

$377 12.4%

Shanghai

$237 19% 37.2% $140

Eating Out

Darwin

$340 11.2%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 68.5% $233

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Darwin

$310 10.2%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 75.6% $234

Clothing & Footwear

Darwin

$168 5.5%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 27.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Darwin

$114 3.8%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 27.7% $32

Getting Around

Darwin

$58 * 1.9%

Shanghai

$37 3% 36.5% $21

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 $1,716 in Darwin and $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Darwin pays 143% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $90.0 in Darwin vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $377 vs $237 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Darwin

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

12:17 12:17 PM

10:47 10:47 AM

1 h 30 min behind Darwin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

122,207

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

1 CNY = 0.149 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Darwin Shanghai 4,960 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Darwin vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 146% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 143% higher in Darwin, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,716 in Darwin versus $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Darwin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Shanghai – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $90.0 in Darwin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,250 in Shanghai versus $3,070 in Darwin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Darwin. The gap between the two cities makes Shanghai 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.

Safety-wise, Darwin and Shanghai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 146% less than in Darwin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.