Cost of Living Comparison Between Lhasa and Shanghai Cost of Living Comparison Between Lhasa and Shanghai

🙂 Solo nomad: Lhasa is 28.3% cheaper than Shanghai without rent, and 41.4% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Lhasa is 19.8% cheaper than Shanghai without rent, and 40% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.53 ¥25.31

$4.73 ¥33.92

-25.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.6 ¥198

$36.17 ¥259

-23.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.78 ¥48.61

$5.6 ¥40.18

21.07%

Cappuccino

$2.93 ¥21.01

$3.56 ¥25.53

-17.70%

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

$0.4 ¥2.9

$0.54 ¥3.9

-25.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ¥2.41

$0.36 ¥2.59

-5.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.27 ¥9.09

$1.43 ¥10.25

-11.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 ¥12.67

$2.76 ¥19.81

-35.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 ¥14.63

$2.18 ¥15.66

-6.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 ¥12.44

$1.81 ¥13

-4.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.79 ¥5.67

$1.1 ¥7.9

-28.18%

Eggs

$2.39 ¥17.16

$1.69 ¥12.1

41.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.81 ¥48.88

$15.79 ¥113

-56.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.76 ¥19.77

$3.17 ¥22.76

-12.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.12 ¥72.6

$10.88 ¥78.1

-6.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.2 ¥15.76

$2.26 ¥16.24

-2.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.93

$1.67 ¥11.98

-0.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.4 ¥10.07

$1.78 ¥12.78

-21.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.97

$1.52 ¥10.94

-45.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ¥4.68

$0.85 ¥6.09

-23.53%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 ¥6.56

$1.17 ¥8.37

-22.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.6 ¥4.31

$0.68 ¥4.84

-11.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.8 ¥5.73

$0.6 ¥4.29

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.07 ¥22.02

$2.87 ¥20.56

6.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.53 ¥89.9

$11.16 ¥80

12.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥5.32

$0.8 ¥5.73

-7.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.6 ¥11.5

$1.56 ¥11.22

2.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 ¥1.91

$0.4 ¥2.89

-32.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.43 ¥118

$35.15 ¥252

-53.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.41 ¥10.11

$2.29 ¥16.45

-38.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.26 ¥1.86

$0.37 ¥2.69

-29.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.74 ¥48.38

$8.14 ¥58.4

-17.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.3 ¥9.34

$1.09 ¥7.81

19.27%

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

$19.7K ¥141.2K

$19.5K ¥140.1K

0.73%

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

$16.8K ¥120.4K

$18.2K ¥130.5K

-7.72%

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

$46.59 ¥334

$51.6 ¥370

-9.62%

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

$9.74 ¥69.9

$8.68 ¥62.2

12.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.46 ¥111

$13.5 ¥96.8

14.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.05 ¥294

$46.42 ¥333

-11.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.78 ¥98.9

$20.44 ¥147

-32.58%

Cinema Ticket

$7.78 ¥55.8

$8.58 ¥61.5

-9.32%

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

$339 ¥2,434

$1,307 ¥9,378

-74.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ¥123K

$31.4K ¥225.4K

-45.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.8 ¥214

$58.8 ¥422

-49.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.97 ¥222

$36.99 ¥265

-16.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70 ¥502

$77.7 ¥558

-9.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$45.75 ¥328

$98.5 ¥706

-53.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$274 ¥1,964

$952 ¥6,827

-71.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 ¥1,346

$574 ¥4,115

-67.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 ¥4,318

$2,518 ¥18.1K

-76.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 ¥2,604

$1,201 ¥8,614

-69.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,986 ¥21.4K

$14.4K ¥103.2K

-79.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,034 ¥14.6K

$7,106 ¥51K

-71.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,195 ¥8,574

$1,534 ¥11K

-22.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.87

3.58

8.10%

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

Last update for Lhasa: October 29, 2025

Last update for Shanghai: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Tashkent

🇺🇿 Uzbekistan

Bishkek

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

Lviv

🇺🇦 Ukraine

Odesa

🇺🇦 Ukraine

Pristina

🇽🇰 Kosovo

Algiers

🇩🇿 Algeria

Kampala

🇺🇬 Uganda