Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shantou and Bangalore

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $552 a month against $692 in Shantou, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Shantou
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Shantou Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
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Bangalore Living Index

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Shantou

🇨🇳 China

$692

/mo nomad

Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$552

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shantou and in Bangalore

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Shantou and in Bangalore actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $692 in Shantou versus $552 in Bangalore.

Shantou $692
Bangalore $552

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,104 in Shantou versus $936 in Bangalore.

Shantou $1,104
Bangalore $936

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,516 in Shantou versus $1,320 in Bangalore.

Shantou $1,516
Bangalore $1,320

Living in Shantou is roughly 25% more expensive than in Bangalore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shantou 49% lower, Bangalore 59% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.29 ¥15.35

$3.20 ₹305

-28.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.70 ¥158

$17.72 ₹1,686

33.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.17 ¥34.59

$4.74 ₹451

9.07%

Cappuccino

$3.38 ¥22.63

$2.24 ₹213

50.89%

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

$0.47 ¥3.12

$0.38 ₹36.22

23.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.05

$0.13 ₹11.90

138.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.92

$2.29 ₹218

-61.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 ¥14.28

$3.69 ₹351

-42.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 ¥10.71

$0.63 ₹60.2

153.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ¥9.73

$0.59 ₹55.7

145.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.18

$0.81 ₹77.3

-4.94%

Eggs

$1.69 ¥11.33

$1.12 ₹106

50.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.63 ¥91.1

$5.97 ₹568

128.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.43 ¥22.91

$3.75 ₹357

-8.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.16 ¥88.0

Apples (1kg)

$1.95 ¥13.03

$2.80 ₹267

-30.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 ¥10.05

$0.76 ₹72.7

97.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 ¥12.14

$1.18 ₹113

53.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.30 ¥8.70

$0.38 ₹36.18

242.11%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ¥5.49

$0.38 ₹35.78

115.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 ¥7.11

$0.36 ₹34.14

194.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 ¥3.96

$0.42 ₹40.13

40.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.88

$0.32 ₹30.87

34.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.69 ¥24.71

$4.80 ₹457

-23.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.00 ¥80.2

$9.31 ₹886

28.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥5.57

$1.95 ₹185

-57.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 ¥11.98

$3.00 ₹285

-40.33%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.37 ₹606

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 ¥2.41

$0.54 ₹51.0

-33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.27 ¥162

$15.55 ₹1,480

56.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.53 ¥10.24

$1.02 ₹97.4

50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 ¥2.56

$0.30 ₹28.69

26.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.31 ¥48.86

$2.04 ₹194

258.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ¥8.25

$1.10 ₹105

11.82%

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

$19.8K ¥132.4K

$12.5K ₹1.2M

57.90%

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

$18.0K ¥120.5K

$18.7K ₹1.8M

-3.78%

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

$56.7 ¥379

$30.94 ₹2,943

83.13%

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

$8.89 ¥59.5

$4.10 ₹390

116.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.86 ¥92.7

$10.39 ₹989

33.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.87 ₹1,795

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.79 ₹551

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 ¥50.5

$4.82 ₹458

56.43%

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

$540 ¥3,614

$102 ₹9,677

431.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.2K ¥162.1K

$3,257 ₹309.9K

644.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.6 ¥372

$33.54 ₹3,191

65.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.70 ¥265

$30.76 ₹2,927

29.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.1 ¥489

$52.7 ₹5,012

38.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 ¥611

$40.37 ₹3,841

126.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$298 ¥1,991

$307 ₹29.2K

-2.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$151 ¥1,011

$176 ₹16.7K

-14.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 ¥4,027

$782 ₹74.4K

-22.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,969

$482 ₹45.9K

-38.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,278 ¥15.2K

$1,857 ₹176.7K

22.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,469 ¥29.9K

$1,074 ₹102.2K

316.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,062 ¥7,099

$940 ₹89.4K

12.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

8.46

-60.40%

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

Last update for Shantou: October 13, 2026

Last update for Bangalore: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Shantou

$214 31%

Bangalore

$124 22.4% 42.3% $91

Accommodation & Living

Shantou

$151 21.8%

Bangalore

$176 31.9% 16.3% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Shantou

$117 16.9%

Bangalore

$71 12.8% 39.4% $46

Eating Out

Shantou

$86 12.5%

Bangalore

$88 15.9% 1.6% $1.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shantou

$79 11.5%

Bangalore

$45 8.2% 42.8% $34

Getting Around

Shantou

$29 4.2%

Bangalore

$20 3.7% 30.6% $8.9

Sport & Entertainment

Shantou

$15 * 2.2%

Bangalore

$29 5.2% 88.9% $13

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 $298 in Shantou and $307 in Bangalore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shantou pays 13% 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: $24.00 in Shantou vs $18.00 in Bangalore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $124 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shantou

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🕒 Local time

15:19 3:19 PM

12:49 12:49 PM

2 h 30 min behind Shantou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,389,328

8,495,492

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.51 USD

1,000 INR = 9.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 95.14 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.39 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Shantou Bangalore 4,270 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Shantou
Bangalore

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

Shantou vs Bangalore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Shantou. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bangalore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 13% higher in Shantou, 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: $298 in Shantou versus $307 in Bangalore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bangalore runs roughly 56% less than in Shantou. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $540 in Shantou versus $102 in Bangalore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Bangalore gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bangalore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $552 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bangalore hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 25% less than in Shantou. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.