Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Sacheon

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $1,429 in Sacheon, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. The total is higher in Sacheon despite lower rent and utilities.

61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Sacheon
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Sacheon Living Index

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Sacheon

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,429

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shanghai and in Sacheon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,244 in Shanghai versus $1,429 in Sacheon.

Shanghai $1,244
Sacheon $1,429

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,999 in Shanghai versus $2,219 in Sacheon.

Shanghai $1,999
Sacheon $2,219

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,755 in Shanghai versus $3,009 in Sacheon.

Shanghai $2,755
Sacheon $3,009

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 13% less than in Sacheon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shanghai is 8% below, Sacheon is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.56 ¥30.47

$7.43 ₩9,880

-38.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.21 ¥202

$34.73 ₩46.2K

-13.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.25 ¥35.13

$6.58 ₩8,755

-20.21%

Cappuccino

$3.28 ¥21.94

$3.64 ₩4,837

-9.89%

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

$0.57 ¥3.84

$1.54 ₩2,042

-62.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ¥2.39

$0.67 ₩891

-46.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.23

$3.43 ₩4,565

-64.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 ¥15.18

$4.41 ₩5,861

-48.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 ¥12.30

$2.23 ₩2,962

-17.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 ¥13.08

$3.08 ₩4,090

-36.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ¥6.87

$2.67 ₩3,554

-61.42%

Eggs

$1.67 ¥11.16

$2.61 ₩3,466

-36.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.96 ¥113

$11.20 ₩14.9K

51.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.19 ¥21.33

$8.24 ₩11.0K

-61.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.90 ¥86.3

$20.78 ₩27.6K

-37.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 ¥15.00

$7.49 ₩9,960

-70.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.13

$3.59 ₩4,767

-53.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 ¥13.54

$7.35 ₩9,771

-72.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.08

$6.04 ₩8,027

-72.52%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.17

$3.64 ₩4,835

-78.85%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$2.67 ₩3,547

-65.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 ¥4.19

$2.72 ₩3,615

-76.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 ¥3.99

$1.32 ₩1,760

-54.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.80 ¥25.44

$3.33 ₩4,424

14.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.87 ¥72.7

$18.90 ₩25.1K

-42.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 ¥5.51

$2.21 ₩2,936

-62.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥10.76

$3.53 ₩4,693

-54.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 ¥4.11

$1.09 ₩1,449

-44.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.40 ¥197

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.11 ¥14.11

$3.30 ₩4,388

-36.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$0.62 ₩825

-30.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.06 ¥60.6

$12.72 ₩16.9K

-28.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ¥8.89

$1.40 ₩1,861

-5.00%

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

$19.0K ¥127.2K

$29.2K ₩38.8M

-34.83%

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

$18.7K ¥125.1K

$33.5K ₩44.5M

-44.07%

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

$57.8 ¥387

$199 ₩264.4K

-70.92%

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

$8.09 ¥54.1

$36.23 ₩48.2K

-77.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.48 ¥70.0

$21.92 ₩29.1K

-52.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.7 ¥439

$51.8 ₩68.8K

26.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.82 ¥119

$12.12 ₩16.1K

47.03%

Cinema Ticket

$8.95 ¥59.9

$11.01 ₩14.6K

-18.71%

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

$1,414 ¥9,451

$512 ₩680.7K

176.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.9K ¥186.2K

$21.9K ₩29.1M

27.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 ¥361

$65.1 ₩86.5K

-17.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.09 ¥248

$63.7 ₩84.7K

-41.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 ¥496

$75.5 ₩100.4K

-1.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥706

$98.3 ₩130.7K

7.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 ¥7,056

$494 ₩656.6K

113.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$585 ¥3,910

$365 ₩485.3K

60.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,485 ¥16.6K

$1,152 ₩1.5M

115.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,232 ¥8,240

$750 ₩997.3K

64.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.9K ¥93.1K

$7,242 ₩9.6M

92.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,253 ¥41.8K

$5,426 ₩7.2M

15.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 ¥11.4K

$1,506 ₩2.0M

13.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

4.1

-18.05%

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

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sacheon: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shanghai

$585 47%

Sacheon

$365 25.5% 37.6% $220

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$235 18.9%

Sacheon

$429 30% 82.6% $194

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$122 9.8%

Sacheon

$136 9.5% 11.7% $14

Eating Out

Shanghai

$106 8.5%

Sacheon

$158 11% 48.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$84 6.7%

Sacheon

$74 5.2% 11.7% $9.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$76 6.1%

Sacheon

$257 18% 237% $181

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 2.9%

Sacheon

$11 * 0.8% 70.2% $25

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 $494 in Sacheon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 14% 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 $35.00 in Sacheon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $429 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇰🇷 Sacheon

🕒 Local time

04:31 4:31 AM

05:31 5:31 AM

1 h ahead of Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

117,500

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Shanghai Sacheon 740 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

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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 Sacheon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shanghai and Sacheon differ by about 15% in total monthly costs ($1,244 vs $1,429 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 14% 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 $494 in Sacheon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 83% higher in Sacheon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,244 per month in Shanghai versus $1,429 in Sacheon – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $1,429 in Sacheon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Sacheon. 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 Sacheon 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 15% less than in Sacheon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.