Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between North Korea and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in North Korea: $836 a month against $1,250 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Shanghai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

41

Cost of Living Index in North Korea
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North Korea Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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🇰🇵 North Korea

$836

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: North Korea is 14.2% more expensive than Shanghai without rent, and 33.1% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: North Korea is 3.3% more expensive than Shanghai without rent, and 35.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.75 $2.75

$4.55 ¥30.40

-39.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.54 $22.54

$29.52 ¥197

-23.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.33 $19.33

$5.10 ¥34.08

279.02%

Cappuccino

$1.09 $1.09

$3.42 ¥22.88

-68.13%

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

$2.25 $2.25

$0.61 ¥4.11

268.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 $1.28

$0.36 ¥2.40

255.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.50 $13.50

$1.21 ¥8.07

1015.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 $3.46

$2.29 ¥15.31

51.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 $0.90

$1.86 ¥12.46

-51.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.52 $2.52

$2.01 ¥13.45

25.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.02 ¥6.83

52.94%

Eggs

$2.89 $2.89

$1.72 ¥11.46

68.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.91 $4.91

$17.19 ¥115

-71.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.86 $3.86

$3.35 ¥22.39

15.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.50 $5.50

$12.80 ¥85.5

-57.03%

Apples (1kg)

$6.12 $6.12

$2.17 ¥14.51

182.03%

Banana (1kg)

$5.13 $5.13

$1.74 ¥11.65

194.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.28 $2.28

$1.94 ¥12.96

17.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 $2.18

$1.68 ¥11.23

29.76%

Potato (1kg)

$4.53 $4.53

$0.77 ¥5.17

488.31%

Onion (1kg)

$4.53 $4.53

$0.93 ¥6.21

387.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 $2.26

$0.62 ¥4.16

264.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 $0.46

$0.58 ¥3.88

-20.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.52 $4.52

$3.83 ¥25.60

18.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.94 $7.94

$10.94 ¥73.1

-27.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 $1.15

$0.84 ¥5.59

36.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 $2.18

$1.60 ¥10.71

36.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 $1.00

$0.59 ¥3.92

69.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.72 $38.72

$30.27 ¥202

27.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 $1.52

$2.06 ¥13.77

-26.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 $2.25

$0.47 ¥3.13

378.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.80 $39.80

$8.80 ¥58.8

352.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.71 $0.71

$1.27 ¥8.51

-44.09%

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

$22.2K $22.2K

$19.6K ¥131.0K

13.32%

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

$27.9K $27.9K

$18.6K ¥124.2K

50.12%

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

$33.64 $33.64

$57.2 ¥382

-41.22%

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

$11.23 $11.23

$8.06 ¥53.8

39.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.44 $45.44

$10.52 ¥70.3

331.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.4 $59.4

$64.6 ¥432

-8.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.41 $14.41

$17.63 ¥118

-18.26%

Cinema Ticket

$7.78 $7.78

$8.84 ¥59.1

-11.99%

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

$106 $106

$1,437 ¥9,605

-92.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,149 $2,149

$28.1K ¥187.5K

-92.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.12 $22.12

$54.7 ¥365

-59.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.19 $28.19

$36.43 ¥243

-22.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.9 $62.9

$75.4 ¥504

-16.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.7 $84.7

$104 ¥695

-18.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$97.2 $97.2

$1,039 ¥6,945

-90.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$104 $104

$589 ¥3,933

-82.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,399 $1,399

$2,487 ¥16.6K

-43.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$208 $208

$1,237 ¥8,268

-83.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,684 $1,684

$13.6K ¥90.8K

-87.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,392 $1,392

$6,191 ¥41.4K

-77.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$232 $232

$1,715 ¥11.5K

-86.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.11

3.36

111.61%

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

Last update for North Korea: October 6, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

North Korea

$247 29.4%

Shanghai

$237 19% 4.2% $10

Eating Out

North Korea

$182 21.6%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 40.9% $74

Accommodation & Living

North Korea

$104 12.3%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 468% $485

Monthly Utilities & Internet

North Korea

$90 10.7%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 16.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

North Korea

$89 10.6%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 36.6% $33

Sport & Entertainment

North Korea

$75 8.9%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 9.7% $7.3

Getting Around

North Korea

$56 6.6%

Shanghai

$37 3% 33.3% $18

Good to know

🇰🇵 North Korea

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

11:55 11:55 AM

10:55 10:55 AM

1 h behind North Korea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

26,418,204

24,870,895

💱 Currency

USD USD

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

North Korea Shanghai 950 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

North Korea
Shanghai

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

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