Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Griffith and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $2,398 in Griffith, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Griffith
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Griffith Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Griffith

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,398

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,398 in Griffith versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Griffith $2,398
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,648 in Griffith versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Griffith $3,648
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,898 in Griffith versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Griffith $4,898
Shanghai $2,755

Living in Griffith is roughly 93% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Griffith is 78% above, Shanghai is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.36 A$26.41

$4.56 ¥30.47

302.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.2 A$131

$30.21 ¥202

201.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.87 A$14.20

$5.25 ¥35.13

88.00%

Cappuccino

$4.26 A$6.13

$3.28 ¥21.94

29.88%

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

$2.90 A$4.18

$0.57 ¥3.84

408.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 A$3.66

$0.36 ¥2.39

605.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.01 A$11.52

$1.23 ¥8.23

551.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.36 A$12.03

$2.27 ¥15.18

268.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 A$2.42

$1.84 ¥12.30

-8.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 A$3.43

$1.96 ¥13.08

21.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 A$3.20

$1.03 ¥6.87

115.53%

Eggs

$4.63 A$6.67

$1.67 ¥11.16

177.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.99 A$12.94

$16.96 ¥113

-46.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.65 A$15.33

$3.19 ¥21.33

233.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.27 A$23.41

$12.90 ¥86.3

26.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 A$5.56

$2.24 ¥15.00

72.32%

Banana (1kg)

$3.48 A$5.00

$1.66 ¥11.13

109.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 A$4.09

$2.02 ¥13.54

40.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.04 A$7.25

$1.66 ¥11.08

203.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 A$3.39

$0.77 ¥5.17

206.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.46

$0.93 ¥6.21

158.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 A$3.38

$0.63 ¥4.19

273.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 A$2.42

$0.60 ¥3.99

180.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.50 A$62.6

$3.80 ¥25.44

1044.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.29 A$17.69

$10.87 ¥72.7

13.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.71 A$6.77

$0.82 ¥5.51

474.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.25 A$7.55

$1.61 ¥10.76

226.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.80 A$4.02

$0.61 ¥4.11

359.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.7 A$110

$29.40 ¥197

160.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.55 A$5.10

$2.11 ¥14.11

68.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 A$2.33

$0.43 ¥2.87

276.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.71 A$64.3

$9.06 ¥60.6

393.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 A$1.86

$1.33 ¥8.89

-3.01%

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

$30.7K A$44.2K

$19.0K ¥127.2K

61.53%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$18.7K ¥125.1K

54.76%

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

$213 A$307

$57.8 ¥387

268.50%

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

$28.19 A$40.57

$8.09 ¥54.1

248.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.1

$10.48 ¥70.0

431.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.1 A$86.5

$65.7 ¥439

-8.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.56 A$22.40

$17.82 ¥119

-12.68%

Cinema Ticket

$13.82 A$19.88

$8.95 ¥59.9

54.41%

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

$2,259 A$3,251

$1,414 ¥9,451

59.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.5K A$26.6K

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-33.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.5 A$122

$54.0 ¥361

56.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.62 A$71.4

$37.09 ¥248

33.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 A$147

$74.3 ¥496

37.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 A$174

$106 ¥706

14.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,508 A$2,171

$1,055 ¥7,056

42.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,073 A$1,544

$585 ¥3,910

83.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 A$3,249

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-9.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,898 A$2,731

$1,232 ¥8,240

54.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,194 A$7,475

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-62.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,691 A$6,751

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-24.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 ¥11.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.36

73.81%

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

Last update for Griffith: October 12, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Griffith

$1.1K 44.8%

Shanghai

$585 47% 45.5% $488

Groceries & Markets

Griffith

$374 15.6%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 37.2% $139

Eating Out

Griffith

$306 12.8%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 65.4% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Griffith

$297 12.4%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 74.3% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Griffith

$160 6.7%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 24% $39

Getting Around

Griffith

$99 4.2%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 63.7% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Griffith

$88 3.7%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 4.7% $4.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,508 in Griffith and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $91.0 in Griffith vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $374 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Griffith

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

01:32 1:32 AM

3 h behind Griffith

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,799

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Griffith Shanghai 7,730 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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

Griffith vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Griffith and Shanghai differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($2,398 vs $1,244 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,596 in Griffith and $1,865 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: $1,508 in Griffith versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Shanghai runs roughly 161% less than in Griffith. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,259 in Griffith versus $1,414 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,398 in Griffith, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Griffith. 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, Griffith 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 93% less than in Griffith. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.