Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Parramatta

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $2,908 in Parramatta, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 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
141

Cost of Living Index in Parramatta
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Parramatta Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Parramatta

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,908

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Parramatta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,908 in Parramatta.

Shanghai $1,244
Parramatta $2,908

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,999 in Shanghai versus $4,053 in Parramatta.

Shanghai $1,999
Parramatta $4,053

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,755 in Shanghai versus $5,198 in Parramatta.

Shanghai $2,755
Parramatta $5,198

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 57% less than in Parramatta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shanghai is 8% below, Parramatta is 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.56 ¥30.47

$17.43 A$25.09

-73.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.21 ¥202

$89.2 A$128

-66.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.25 ¥35.13

$11.95 A$17.20

-56.07%

Cappuccino

$3.28 ¥21.94

$3.91 A$5.63

-16.11%

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

$0.57 ¥3.84

$3.03 A$4.36

-81.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ¥2.39

$2.62 A$3.77

-86.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.23

$8.30 A$11.94

-85.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 ¥15.18

$7.16 A$10.30

-68.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 ¥12.30

$1.61 A$2.31

14.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 ¥13.08

$2.76 A$3.97

-28.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ¥6.87

$2.36 A$3.39

-56.36%

Eggs

$1.67 ¥11.16

$5.41 A$7.78

-69.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.96 ¥113

$12.08 A$17.38

40.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.19 ¥21.33

$9.83 A$14.15

-67.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.90 ¥86.3

$15.05 A$21.66

-14.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 ¥15.00

$4.07 A$5.86

-44.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.13

$3.09 A$4.45

-46.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 ¥13.54

$3.34 A$4.81

-39.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.08

$5.17 A$7.44

-67.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.17

$3.09 A$4.45

-75.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$2.42 A$3.49

-61.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 ¥4.19

$2.54 A$3.65

-75.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 ¥3.99

$1.32 A$1.90

-54.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.80 ¥25.44

$44.84 A$64.5

-91.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.87 ¥72.7

$13.69 A$19.70

-20.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥5.51

$4.08 A$5.87

-79.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.76

$4.02 A$5.78

-59.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 ¥4.11

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.40 ¥197

$138 A$199

-78.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.11 ¥14.11

$3.41 A$4.91

-38.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$1.62 A$2.33

-73.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.06 ¥60.6

$40.33 A$58.0

-77.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ¥8.89

$1.36 A$1.96

-2.21%

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

$19.0K ¥127.2K

$29.0K A$41.7K

-34.31%

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

$18.7K ¥125.1K

$29.8K A$42.8K

-37.12%

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

$57.8 ¥387

$221 A$318

-73.81%

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

$8.09 ¥54.1

$27.03 A$38.90

-70.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.48 ¥70.0

$55.2 A$79.4

-81.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.7 ¥439

$34.61 A$49.80

89.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.82 ¥119

$19.71 A$28.37

-9.59%

Cinema Ticket

$8.95 ¥59.9

$16.14 A$23.23

-44.55%

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

$1,414 ¥9,451

$2,204 A$3,172

-35.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.9K ¥186.2K

$20.6K A$29.7K

35.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 ¥361

$79.1 A$114

-31.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.09 ¥248

$55.4 A$79.7

-32.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 ¥496

$106 A$153

-30.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥706

$130 A$187

-18.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 ¥7,056

$1,828 A$2,630

-42.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$585 ¥3,910

$1,542 A$2,219

-62.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,485 ¥16.6K

$3,928 A$5,653

-36.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,232 ¥8,240

$2,132 A$3,068

-42.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.9K ¥93.1K

$4,204 A$6,049

231.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,253 ¥41.8K

$3,283 A$4,724

90.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 ¥11.4K

$4,103 A$5,904

-58.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

5.84

-42.47%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Last update for Parramatta: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$585 47%

Parramatta

$1.5K 53% 164% $957

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$235 18.9%

Parramatta

$379 13% 61.6% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$122 9.8%

Parramatta

$167 5.7% 37% $45

Eating Out

Shanghai

$106 8.5%

Parramatta

$301 10.3% 184% $195

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$84 6.7%

Parramatta

$67 2.3% 20% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$76 6.1%

Parramatta

$303 10.4% 297% $227

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 2.9%

Parramatta

$150 * 5.1% 314% $113

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 $1,055 in Shanghai and $1,828 in Parramatta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Parramatta pays 140% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $30.00 in Shanghai vs $89.0 in Parramatta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $379 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇦🇺 Parramatta

🕒 Local time

23:12 11:12 PM

02:12 2:12 AM

3 h ahead of Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

19,745

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shanghai Parramatta 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
Parramatta

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 Parramatta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 134% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 140% lower in Parramatta. 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 $1,828 in Parramatta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,244 per month in Shanghai versus $2,908 in Parramatta – a 134% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Shanghai runs roughly 369% less than in Parramatta. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,908 in Parramatta, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Parramatta. 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 Parramatta 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 134% less than in Parramatta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.