Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Moe

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $2,477 in Moe, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
114

Cost of Living Index in Moe
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Moe Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Moe

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,477

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Moe

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 Moe actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,477 in Moe.

Shanghai $1,244
Moe $2,477

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,999 in Shanghai versus $3,599 in Moe.

Shanghai $1,999
Moe $3,599

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,755 in Shanghai versus $4,720 in Moe.

Shanghai $2,755
Moe $4,720

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 50% less than in Moe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shanghai is 8% below, Moe is 83% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.56 ¥30.45

$13.72 A$19.66

-66.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.21 ¥202

$76.5 A$110

-60.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.25 ¥35.10

$10.02 A$14.36

-47.60%

Cappuccino

$3.28 ¥21.92

$3.87 A$5.54

-15.25%

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

$0.57 ¥3.84

$3.06 A$4.38

-81.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ¥2.39

$1.43 A$2.04

-74.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.22

$5.20 A$7.45

-76.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 ¥15.17

$4.75 A$6.81

-52.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 ¥12.29

$0.76 A$1.08

142.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 ¥13.07

$2.91 A$4.17

-32.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ¥6.87

$2.67 A$3.82

-61.42%

Eggs

$1.67 ¥11.15

$3.50 A$5.01

-52.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.96 ¥113

$10.67 A$15.28

58.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.19 ¥21.31

$8.23 A$11.79

-61.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.90 ¥86.2

$15.13 A$21.67

-14.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 ¥14.99

$2.86 A$4.09

-21.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.12

$2.81 A$4.02

-40.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 ¥13.53

$2.87 A$4.11

-29.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.07

$4.45 A$6.38

-62.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.17

$2.03 A$2.91

-62.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$2.48 A$3.56

-62.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 ¥4.19

$2.39 A$3.43

-73.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 ¥3.98

$1.40 A$2.01

-57.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.80 ¥25.42

$30.94 A$44.32

-87.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.87 ¥72.6

$12.47 A$17.86

-12.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥5.51

$3.54 A$5.07

-76.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.76

$3.55 A$5.09

-54.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 ¥4.11

$2.95 A$4.23

-79.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.40 ¥196

$79.9 A$114

-63.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.11 ¥14.10

$2.25 A$3.22

-6.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.86

$1.36 A$1.95

-68.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.06 ¥60.6

$24.81 A$35.54

-63.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ¥8.88

$1.17 A$1.67

13.68%

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

$19.0K ¥127.1K

$28.3K A$40.5K

-32.74%

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

$18.7K ¥125.0K

$26.7K A$38.3K

-29.99%

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

$57.8 ¥386

$153 A$220

-62.32%

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

$8.09 ¥54.0

$27.73 A$39.73

-70.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.48 ¥70.0

$57.5 A$82.3

-81.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.7 ¥439

$56.1 A$80.3

17.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.82 ¥119

$15.63 A$22.40

14.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.95 ¥59.8

$15.19 A$21.75

-41.08%

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

$1,414 ¥9,444

$2,416 A$3,461

-41.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.9K ¥186.1K

$29.3K A$41.9K

-4.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 ¥361

$79.4 A$114

-32.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.09 ¥248

$50.2 A$71.9

-26.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 ¥496

$122 A$174

-38.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥705

$134 A$191

-21.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 ¥7,050

$1,344 A$1,925

-21.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$585 ¥3,906

$1,306 A$1,871

-55.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,485 ¥16.6K

$2,196 A$3,146

13.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,232 ¥8,233

$2,059 A$2,949

-40.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.9K ¥93.0K

$5,745 A$8,230

142.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,253 ¥41.8K

$4,931 A$7,063

26.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 ¥11.4K

$1,403 A$2,010

21.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

5.9

-43.05%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Last update for Moe: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$585 47%

Moe

$1.3K 52.7% 123% $722

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$235 18.9%

Moe

$332 13.4% 41.4% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$122 9.8%

Moe

$173 7% 42.1% $51

Eating Out

Shanghai

$106 8.5%

Moe

$240 9.7% 126% $134

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$84 6.7%

Moe

$86 3.5% 3.4% $2.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$76 6.1%

Moe

$239 9.6% 213% $162

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 2.9%

Moe

$101 4.1% 179% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Shanghai and $1,344 in Moe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 22% 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 $76.0 in Moe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $332 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇦🇺 Moe

🕒 Local time

05:53 5:53 AM

08:53 8:53 AM

3 h ahead of Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

8,700

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

1 AUD = 0.698 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.698 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Shanghai Moe 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
Moe

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 Moe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai wins on cost – living expenses run 99% lower than in Moe. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Shanghai the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 22% higher in Shanghai, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,055 in Shanghai versus $1,344 in Moe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Moe. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Shanghai – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $76.0 in Moe. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,477 in Moe, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Moe. 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, Shanghai and Moe 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 99% less than in Moe. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.