Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,222 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $670 less a year. The total is higher in Phuket despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Phuket

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Shanghai versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Shanghai $1,222
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,971 in Shanghai versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Shanghai $1,971
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,720 in Shanghai versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Shanghai $2,720
Phuket $3,154

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 4% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shanghai 10% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.53 ¥30.11

$4.47 ฿151

1.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.16 ¥201

$32.41 ฿1,094

-6.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥34.04

$8.81 ฿297

-42.00%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥22.70

$2.83 ฿95.5

20.49%

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

$0.58 ¥3.85

$0.87 ฿29.43

-33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.36

$0.49 ฿16.67

-28.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.22

$2.56 ฿86.4

-51.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ¥15.37

$3.68 ฿124

-37.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.52

$1.66 ฿56.0

13.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 ¥12.88

$1.46 ฿49.35

32.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.52

$1.50 ฿50.6

-34.67%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.31

$2.09 ฿70.5

-18.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.02 ¥113

$19.07 ฿644

-10.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.22 ¥21.41

$3.30 ฿111

-2.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥86.0

$10.91 ฿368

18.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 ¥14.31

$2.93 ฿99.0

-26.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.48

$1.69 ฿57.1

2.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.51

$2.25 ฿75.8

-9.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.54

$2.08 ฿70.1

-16.83%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.51

$1.51 ฿51.0

-45.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.13

$1.38 ฿46.56

-33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.48

$1.07 ฿35.99

-37.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$0.52 ฿17.52

13.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.10

$4.20 ฿142

-10.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 ¥73.4

$18.79 ฿634

-41.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥6.00

$1.82 ฿61.5

-50.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.67

$2.84 ฿95.9

-43.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 ¥3.81

$1.45 ฿49.03

-60.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ¥197

$56.7 ฿1,913

-47.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ¥14.25

$3.02 ฿102

-29.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.10

$1.02 ฿34.36

-53.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.74 ¥58.2

$3.69 ฿125

136.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.93

$1.47 ฿49.81

-8.84%

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

$19.3K ¥128.1K

$26.8K ฿904.3K

-28.10%

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

$18.3K ¥121.7K

$26.7K ฿901.3K

-31.51%

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

$58.9 ¥392

$96.4 ฿3,254

-38.87%

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

$7.90 ¥52.5

$11.26 ฿380

-29.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.60 ¥70.5

$16.85 ฿569

-37.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.8 ¥431

$67.2 ฿2,270

-3.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 ¥116

$10.73 ฿362

62.81%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 ¥60.3

$7.50 ฿253

20.80%

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

$1,587 ¥10.6K

$476 ฿16.1K

233.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K ¥187.9K

$11.3K ฿380.4K

150.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 ¥363

$62.4 ฿2,106

-12.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.21 ¥248

$28.41 ฿959

30.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 ¥496

$94.3 ฿3,184

-20.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥707

$85.8 ฿2,898

23.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 ¥6,826

$716 ฿24.2K

43.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,722

$491 ฿16.6K

13.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,618 ¥17.4K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

35.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ¥7,926

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-16.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K ¥89.0K

$4,175 ฿141.0K

220.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,527 ¥43.4K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

114.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 ¥11.4K

$502 ฿17.0K

240.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

5.57

-39.68%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$559 45.8%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 12.2% $68

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$237 19.4%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 12.6% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$123 10%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 0.6% $0.8

Eating Out

Shanghai

$107 8.8%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 13.7% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$83 6.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 0.8% $0.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$77 6.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 60.8% $47

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 3%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 94% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,026 in Shanghai and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays about 3.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Shanghai vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $266 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

06:54 6:54 AM

05:54 5:54 AM

1 h behind Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

79,308

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shanghai Phuket 3,530 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
Phuket

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 Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai is about 4% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Shanghai is about 3.4 times higher, 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: $1,026 in Shanghai versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,587 in Shanghai versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Shanghai gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.