Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Kamakura

For one person, living costs are similar in Shanghai and in Kamakura: $1,244 and $1,194 a month, rent and utilities included.

61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Kamakura
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Kamakura Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Kamakura

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,194

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Kamakura

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Shanghai and in Kamakura actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,244 in Shanghai versus $1,194 in Kamakura.

Shanghai $1,244
Kamakura $1,194

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,999 in Shanghai versus $1,888 in Kamakura.

Shanghai $1,999
Kamakura $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,755 in Shanghai versus $2,582 in Kamakura.

Shanghai $2,755
Kamakura $2,582

Living in Shanghai is roughly 4% more expensive than in Kamakura, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shanghai 8% lower, Kamakura 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.56 ¥30.47

$6.34 ¥1,002

-28.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.21 ¥202

$31.78 ¥5,020

-4.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.25 ¥35.13

$4.98 ¥787

5.42%

Cappuccino

$3.28 ¥21.94

$2.48 ¥392

32.26%

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

$0.57 ¥3.84

$1.08 ¥171

-47.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ¥2.39

$0.80 ¥127

-55.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.23

$2.57 ¥406

-52.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 ¥15.18

$3.22 ¥509

-29.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 ¥12.30

$1.38 ¥219

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 ¥13.08

$1.50 ¥237

30.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ¥6.87

$3.67 ¥580

-71.93%

Eggs

$1.67 ¥11.16

$1.99 ¥315

-16.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.96 ¥113

$10.47 ¥1,654

61.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.19 ¥21.33

$6.18 ¥976

-48.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.90 ¥86.3

$14.39 ¥2,274

-10.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 ¥15.00

$5.61 ¥886

-60.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.13

$2.69 ¥424

-38.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 ¥13.54

$2.89 ¥457

-30.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.08

$4.30 ¥679

-61.40%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.17

$2.50 ¥395

-69.20%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$2.55 ¥403

-63.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 ¥4.19

$1.13 ¥179

-44.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 ¥3.99

$0.76 ¥120

-21.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.80 ¥25.44

$3.71 ¥587

2.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.87 ¥72.7

$6.44 ¥1,017

68.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥5.51

$1.81 ¥286

-54.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.76

$2.04 ¥322

-21.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 ¥4.11

$1.50 ¥237

-59.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.40 ¥197

$56.5 ¥8,926

-47.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.11 ¥14.11

$3.08 ¥487

-31.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$2.76 ¥436

-84.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.06 ¥60.6

$15.85 ¥2,505

-42.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ¥8.89

$1.10 ¥173

20.91%

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

$19.0K ¥127.2K

$21.6K ¥3.4M

-12.05%

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

$18.7K ¥125.1K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

22.52%

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

$57.8 ¥387

$118 ¥18.6K

-50.85%

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

$8.09 ¥54.1

$23.42 ¥3,700

-65.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.48 ¥70.0

$31.10 ¥4,913

-66.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.7 ¥439

$52.8 ¥8,335

24.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.82 ¥119

Cinema Ticket

$8.95 ¥59.9

$12.67 ¥2,001

-29.36%

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

$1,414 ¥9,451

$584 ¥92.3K

141.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.9K ¥186.2K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

88.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 ¥361

$50.9 ¥8,044

6.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.09 ¥248

$35.32 ¥5,580

5.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 ¥496

$59.9 ¥9,456

24.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥706

$97.5 ¥15.4K

8.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 ¥7,056

$568 ¥89.7K

85.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$585 ¥3,910

$346 ¥54.7K

68.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,485 ¥16.6K

$1,212 ¥191.4K

105.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,232 ¥8,240

$748 ¥118.3K

64.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.9K ¥93.1K

$4,369 ¥690.2K

218.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,253 ¥41.8K

$1,979 ¥312.6K

216.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 ¥11.4K

$1,785 ¥282.0K

-4.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

2.02

66.34%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kamakura: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$585 47%

Kamakura

$346 29% 40.8% $239

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$235 18.9%

Kamakura

$286 24% 22% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$122 9.8%

Kamakura

$110 9.2% 10.1% $12

Eating Out

Shanghai

$106 8.5%

Kamakura

$122 10.2% 15.3% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$84 6.7%

Kamakura

$78 6.5% 6.6% $5.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$76 6.1%

Kamakura

$172 14.4% 125% $96

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 2.9%

Kamakura

$79 6.7% 120% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Shanghai and $568 in Kamakura. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kamakura pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30.00 in Shanghai vs $32.00 in Kamakura for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $286 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇯🇵 Kamakura

🕒 Local time

10:51 10:51 AM

11:51 11:51 AM

1 h ahead of Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

172,710

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shanghai Kamakura 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
Kamakura

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

Shanghai vs Kamakura: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kamakura is cheaper overall, especially in clothing and leisure. The 4% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Kamakura. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,055 in Shanghai versus $568 in Kamakura. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,414 in Shanghai versus $584 in Kamakura. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Shanghai pay roughly 22% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,194 in Kamakura versus $1,244 in Shanghai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kamakura but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Kamakura 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, Shanghai and Kamakura 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 Kamakura gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.