Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Magadan and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Magadan: $1,005 a month against $1,250 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Magadan
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Magadan Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Magadan

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,005

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,005 in Magadan versus $1,250 in Shanghai.

Magadan $1,005
Shanghai $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,585 in Magadan versus $2,019 in Shanghai.

Magadan $1,585
Shanghai $2,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,164 in Magadan versus $2,789 in Shanghai.

Magadan $2,164
Shanghai $2,789

Living in Magadan costs roughly 20% less than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Magadan 25% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.46 ₽974

$4.55 ¥30.45

151.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.52 ₽3,105

$29.52 ¥198

23.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.39 ₽543

$5.10 ¥34.13

25.29%

Cappuccino

$2.77 ₽235

$3.42 ¥22.92

-19.01%

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

$1.11 ₽94.3

$0.61 ¥4.12

81.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 ₽48.11

$0.36 ¥2.41

58.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.68 ₽143

$1.21 ¥8.08

38.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 ₽256

$2.29 ¥15.33

31.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 ₽93.3

$1.86 ¥12.48

-40.86%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 ₽61.2

$2.01 ¥13.47

-64.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 ₽98.4

$1.02 ¥6.84

13.73%

Eggs

$1.51 ₽128

$1.72 ¥11.48

-12.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 ₽933

$17.19 ¥115

-36.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.26 ₽447

$3.35 ¥22.43

57.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.84 ₽1,091

$12.80 ¥85.7

0.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₽143

$2.17 ¥14.54

-22.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 ₽153

$1.74 ¥11.67

3.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 ₽144

$1.94 ¥12.99

-12.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 ₽201

$1.68 ¥11.25

40.48%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 ₽67.3

$0.77 ¥5.18

2.60%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₽50.2

$0.93 ¥6.22

-36.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 ₽125

$0.62 ¥4.17

137.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 ₽56.1

$0.58 ¥3.88

13.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.66 ₽226

$3.83 ¥25.64

-30.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.64 ₽565

$10.94 ¥73.2

-39.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ₽87.7

$0.84 ¥5.60

22.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 ₽170

$1.60 ¥10.73

25.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 ₽44.51

$0.59 ¥3.92

-11.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.27 ¥203

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.31 ₽197

$2.06 ¥13.79

12.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ₽30.40

$0.47 ¥3.13

-23.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.02 ₽427

$8.80 ¥58.9

-42.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 ₽73.3

$1.27 ¥8.53

-32.28%

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

$34.8K ₽3.0M

$19.6K ¥131.2K

77.43%

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

$32.1K ₽2.7M

$18.6K ¥124.4K

72.51%

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

$108 ₽9,172

$57.2 ¥383

88.52%

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

$5.71 ₽485

$8.06 ¥53.9

-29.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.40 ₽629

$10.52 ¥70.4

-29.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.01 ₽2,892

$64.6 ¥433

-47.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.93 ₽1,950

$17.63 ¥118

30.06%

Cinema Ticket

$6.18 ₽526

$8.84 ¥59.1

-30.09%

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

$389 ₽33.1K

$1,437 ¥9,620

-72.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,208 ₽612.8K

$28.1K ¥187.9K

-74.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 ₽6,009

$54.7 ¥366

29.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.87 ₽4,240

$36.43 ¥244

36.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 ₽11.1K

$75.4 ¥504

72.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 ₽9,676

$104 ¥696

9.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$433 ₽36.8K

$1,039 ¥6,956

-58.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$299 ₽25.5K

$589 ¥3,940

-49.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$840 ₽71.4K

$2,487 ¥16.6K

-66.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$573 ₽48.7K

$1,237 ¥8,282

-53.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,927 ₽163.8K

$13.6K ¥90.9K

-85.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,333 ₽113.4K

$6,191 ¥41.4K

-78.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,715 ¥11.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

3.36

534.82%

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

Last update for Magadan: October 6, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Magadan

$299 29.8%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 96.6% $289

Groceries & Markets

Magadan

$204 20.3%

Shanghai

$237 19% 16% $33

Eating Out

Magadan

$165 16.4%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 35.1% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Magadan

$164 16.3%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 25.8% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Magadan

$121 12%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 37.3% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Magadan

$46 4.6%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 77.4% $36

Getting Around

Magadan

$6.2 * 0.6%

Shanghai

$37 3% 497% $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 $433 in Magadan and $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $37.00 in Magadan vs $30.00 in Shanghai. Groceries flip the comparison at $204 vs $237, with Magadan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Magadan

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

14:49 2:49 PM

11:49 11:49 AM

3 h behind Magadan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,193

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.18 USD

100 RUB = 1.05 EUR

1 CNY = 0.149 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 = 85.02 RUB (100 RUB = 1.18 USD). 1 EUR = 95.36 RUB (100 RUB = 1.05 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 RUB in detail →

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Magadan Shanghai 3,830 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Magadan
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

Magadan vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Magadan wins on cost – living expenses run 24% lower than in Shanghai. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Magadan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,507 in Magadan 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: $433 in Magadan versus $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $389 in Magadan 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 Magadan – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $30.00 in Shanghai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,005 in Magadan versus $1,250 in Shanghai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Magadan but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Magadan 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 Magadan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.