Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Epping and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,250 a month against $2,717 in Epping, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

130

Cost of Living Index in Epping
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Epping Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Epping

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,717

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,717 in Epping versus $1,250 in Shanghai.

Epping $2,717
Shanghai $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,754 in Epping versus $2,019 in Shanghai.

Epping $3,754
Shanghai $2,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,791 in Epping versus $2,789 in Shanghai.

Epping $4,791
Shanghai $2,789

Living in Epping is roughly 117% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Epping is 103% above, Shanghai is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.68 A$18.21

$4.55 ¥30.45

178.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 A$90.6

$29.52 ¥198

113.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.43 A$16.42

$5.10 ¥34.13

124.12%

Cappuccino

$3.21 A$4.61

$3.42 ¥22.92

-6.14%

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

$2.45 A$3.51

$0.61 ¥4.12

301.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 A$3.61

$0.36 ¥2.41

597.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.30 A$11.92

$1.21 ¥8.08

585.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.32 A$11.95

$2.29 ¥15.33

263.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 A$2.30

$1.86 ¥12.48

-13.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.80 A$4.02

$2.01 ¥13.47

39.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.78 A$3.99

$1.02 ¥6.84

172.55%

Eggs

$5.59 A$8.03

$1.72 ¥11.48

225.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.13 A$14.56

$17.19 ¥115

-41.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.57 A$13.74

$3.35 ¥22.43

185.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.52

$12.80 ¥85.7

17.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 A$5.34

$2.17 ¥14.54

71.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.87 A$4.12

$1.74 ¥11.67

64.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 A$3.52

$1.94 ¥12.99

26.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.58 A$5.15

$1.68 ¥11.25

113.10%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.37

$0.77 ¥5.18

294.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.43 A$3.49

$0.93 ¥6.22

161.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.97 A$2.83

$0.62 ¥4.17

217.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.29

$0.58 ¥3.88

175.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$27.60 A$39.64

$3.83 ¥25.64

620.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.37 A$12.02

$10.94 ¥73.2

-23.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.48 A$6.43

$0.84 ¥5.60

433.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.84 A$6.95

$1.60 ¥10.73

202.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.59 A$5.16

$0.59 ¥3.92

508.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.3 A$135

$30.27 ¥203

211.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.55 A$5.10

$2.06 ¥13.79

72.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.16 A$1.67

$0.47 ¥3.13

146.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.13 A$40.40

$8.80 ¥58.9

219.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 A$2.05

$1.27 ¥8.53

12.60%

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

$21.2K A$30.4K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

7.99%

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

$18.3K A$26.2K

$18.6K ¥124.4K

-1.71%

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

$142 A$204

$57.2 ¥383

147.68%

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

$28.25 A$40.57

$8.06 ¥53.9

250.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.91 A$67.4

$10.52 ¥70.4

345.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.5 A$79.8

$64.6 ¥433

-14.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.85 A$25.64

$17.63 ¥118

1.25%

Cinema Ticket

$14.06 A$20.19

$8.84 ¥59.1

59.05%

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

$1,801 A$2,587

$1,437 ¥9,620

25.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.2K A$32.0K

$28.1K ¥187.9K

-20.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 A$89.7

$54.7 ¥366

14.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 A$71.7

$36.43 ¥244

37.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$75.4 ¥504

47.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 A$150

$104 ¥696

0.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 A$2,129

$1,039 ¥6,956

42.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,489 A$2,139

$589 ¥3,940

153.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,342 A$3,364

$2,487 ¥16.6K

-5.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,190 A$3,146

$1,237 ¥8,282

77.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,891 A$8,461

$13.6K ¥90.9K

-56.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,001 A$7,184

$6,191 ¥41.4K

-19.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,231 A$6,077

$1,715 ¥11.5K

146.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.5

3.36

63.69%

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

Last update for Epping: 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

Epping

$1.5K 56%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 60.5% $901

Groceries & Markets

Epping

$354 13.3%

Shanghai

$237 19% 33.1% $117

Eating Out

Epping

$252 9.5%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 57.5% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Epping

$217 8.2%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 65% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Epping

$148 5.6%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 17.6% $26

Getting Around

Epping

$118 4.4%

Shanghai

$37 3% 68.6% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Epping

$84 3.1%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 1.6% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,482 in Epping and $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Epping pays 147% 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: $63.0 in Epping vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $354 vs $237 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Epping

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

16:03 4:03 PM

13:03 1:03 PM

3 h behind Epping

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

23,435

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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Between locations

Epping Shanghai 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Epping
Shanghai

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

Epping vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai wins on cost – living expenses run 117% lower than in Epping. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Shanghai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 147% higher in Epping, 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: $1,482 in Epping versus $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Shanghai – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $63.0 in Epping. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,717 per month in Epping versus $1,250 in Shanghai – a 117% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,250 in Shanghai versus $2,717 in Epping, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Epping. 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, Epping 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 117% less than in Epping. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.