Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Tokyo Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Tokyo

🙂 Solo nomad: Shanghai is 37% cheaper than Tokyo without rent, and 29.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Shanghai is 37.2% cheaper than Tokyo without rent, and 25.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.85 ¥34.29

$8.38 ¥1,303

-42.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.66 ¥259

$47.78 ¥7,431

-23.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.41 ¥38.27

$5.61 ¥872

-3.57%

Cappuccino

$3.53 ¥24.95

$3.57 ¥556

-1.12%

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

$0.58 ¥4.12

$1.2 ¥187

-51.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ¥2.39

$0.92 ¥143

-63.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.4 ¥9.92

$4.09 ¥636

-65.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ¥19.64

$5.43 ¥844

-48.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 ¥14.91

$1.62 ¥252

30.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 ¥13.01

$1.53 ¥238

20.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 ¥7.47

$5.61 ¥872

-81.11%

Eggs

$1.61 ¥11.38

$2.35 ¥366

-31.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.27 ¥108

$16.11 ¥2,507

-5.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.07 ¥21.68

$8.15 ¥1,268

-62.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.94 ¥77.4

$22.85 ¥3,554

-52.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.38 ¥16.8

$5.53 ¥860

-56.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 ¥12.36

$2.65 ¥412

-33.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.79 ¥12.67

$5.94 ¥923

-69.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 ¥10.38

$6.12 ¥952

-75.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 ¥6.04

$3.18 ¥495

-73.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.88

$3.47 ¥539

-68.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 ¥4.51

$1.48 ¥230

-56.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ¥3.96

$0.95 ¥148

-41.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.82 ¥19.93

$4.23 ¥657

-33.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.49 ¥81.2

$9.42 ¥1,465

21.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥5.53

$2.07 ¥322

-62.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ¥11.56

$2.96 ¥461

-44.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 ¥3.09

$1.42 ¥221

-69.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.77 ¥246

$83.2 ¥12.9K

-58.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 ¥15.61

$3.53 ¥548

-37.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.4 ¥2.85

$2.92 ¥455

-86.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.33 ¥58.9

$25.83 ¥4,018

-67.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥7.68

$1.2 ¥187

-9.17%

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

$19.7K ¥139.3K

$23.3K ¥3.6M

-15.61%

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

$18.1K ¥127.9K

$16.9K ¥2.6M

6.78%

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

$51.8 ¥366

$166 ¥25.8K

-68.78%

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

$8.81 ¥62.3

$26.11 ¥4,061

-66.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.66 ¥96.6

$33.77 ¥5,253

-59.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.59 ¥329

$69.8 ¥10.9K

-33.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.95 ¥141

$20.62 ¥3,207

-3.25%

Cinema Ticket

$8.58 ¥60.6

$13.25 ¥2,061

-35.25%

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

$1,267 ¥8,958

$511 ¥79.5K

147.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32K ¥226.3K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

107.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.4 ¥413

$60.4 ¥9,400

-3.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.88 ¥268

$41.19 ¥6,406

-8.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.5 ¥541

$64.6 ¥10K

18.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.9 ¥678

$92 ¥14.3K

4.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$961 ¥6,798

$1,120 ¥174.1K

-14.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 ¥3,958

$607 ¥94.4K

-7.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,502 ¥17.7K

$2,689 ¥418.2K

-6.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 ¥8,426

$1,333 ¥207.4K

-10.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$14.3K ¥100.8K

$11.2K ¥1.7M

26.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,164 ¥50.7K

$4,928 ¥766.6K

45.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,553 ¥11K

$2,495 ¥388.1K

-37.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.58

1.72

108.14%

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

Last update for Shanghai: November 29, 2025

Last update for Tokyo: November 30, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova

Johannesburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

Antalya

🇹🇷 Turkey

Jeddah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

Varna

🇧🇬 Bulgaria