Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shiso and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiso: $1,048 a month against $1,256 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Shanghai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

51

Cost of Living Index in Shiso
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Shiso Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Shiso

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,048

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,256

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shiso and in Shanghai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,048 in Shiso versus $1,256 in Shanghai.

Shiso $1,048
Shanghai $1,256

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,913 in Shiso versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Shiso $1,913
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,777 in Shiso versus $2,743 in Shanghai.

Shiso $2,777
Shanghai $2,743

Living in Shiso costs roughly 17% less than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Shiso 23% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.87 ¥1,244

$4.45 ¥29.78

76.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.0 ¥10.7K

$30.29 ¥203

124.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.29 ¥993

$5.09 ¥34.01

23.58%

Cappuccino

$3.69 ¥584

$3.43 ¥22.96

7.58%

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

$0.83 ¥132

$0.62 ¥4.15

33.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 ¥114

$0.39 ¥2.58

84.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 ¥407

$1.23 ¥8.25

109.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 ¥497

$2.21 ¥14.81

42.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 ¥240

$1.85 ¥12.37

-17.84%

White Bread (500g)

$3.00 ¥474

$1.95 ¥13.02

53.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.87 ¥769

$1.00 ¥6.67

387.00%

Eggs

$2.19 ¥346

$1.71 ¥11.43

28.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 ¥1,609

$17.47 ¥117

-41.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.48 ¥1,023

$3.24 ¥21.66

100.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$27.01 ¥4,267

$12.99 ¥86.8

107.93%

Apples (1kg)

$5.33 ¥842

$2.24 ¥14.98

137.95%

Banana (1kg)

$2.59 ¥409

$1.68 ¥11.25

54.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.06 ¥641

$1.95 ¥13.03

108.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.97 ¥943

$1.73 ¥11.60

245.09%

Potato (1kg)

$4.29 ¥678

$0.76 ¥5.10

464.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 ¥411

$0.92 ¥6.15

182.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ¥218

$0.66 ¥4.41

109.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥130

$0.60 ¥4.00

38.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.11 ¥650

$3.69 ¥24.65

11.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.66 ¥1,211

$10.92 ¥73.0

-29.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 ¥303

$0.87 ¥5.85

120.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 ¥351

$1.63 ¥10.87

36.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 ¥216

$0.62 ¥4.13

119.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.90 ¥5,356

$30.38 ¥203

11.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.57 ¥564

$2.06 ¥13.79

73.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.88 ¥455

$0.46 ¥3.08

526.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.87 ¥3,297

$8.84 ¥59.1

136.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥202

$1.33 ¥8.86

-3.76%

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

$22.9K ¥3.6M

$19.3K ¥128.7K

18.93%

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

$17.0K ¥2.7M

$18.2K ¥122.0K

-6.93%

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

$144 ¥22.8K

$57.1 ¥382

152.81%

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

$23.93 ¥3,781

$8.07 ¥53.9

196.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.58 ¥2,146

$10.70 ¥71.5

26.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.74 ¥5,805

$64.6 ¥432

-43.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.71 ¥2,167

$17.29 ¥116

-20.71%

Cinema Ticket

$4.59 ¥726

$9.05 ¥60.5

-49.28%

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

$283 ¥44.8K

$1,441 ¥9,638

-80.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.6K ¥2.1M

$28.2K ¥188.4K

-51.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.06 ¥1,589

$53.5 ¥358

-81.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.87 ¥4,720

$37.05 ¥248

-19.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$33.76 ¥5,334

$77.0 ¥515

-56.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.7 ¥15.7K

$104 ¥694

-4.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$470 ¥74.3K

$1,023 ¥6,841

-54.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$165 ¥26.0K

$594 ¥3,971

-72.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$862 ¥136.1K

$2,563 ¥17.1K

-66.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ¥104.2K

$1,213 ¥8,107

-45.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,229 ¥668.1K

$13.5K ¥90.4K

-68.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,769 ¥279.5K

$6,247 ¥41.8K

-71.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,699 ¥11.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.78

3.36

-47.02%

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

Last update for Shiso: October 18, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Shiso

$368 35.2%

Shanghai

$238 18.9% 35.5% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shiso

$182 17.4%

Shanghai

$76 6% 58.3% $106

Accommodation & Living

Shiso

$165 15.7%

Shanghai

$594 47.3% 261% $429

Eating Out

Shiso

$152 14.5%

Shanghai

$107 8.5% 29.6% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Shiso

$78 7.4%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 56.6% $44

Getting Around

Shiso

$57 5.5%

Shanghai

$37 3% 35.1% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Shiso

$46 4.4%

Shanghai

$83 6.6% 80.1% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $470 in Shiso and $1,023 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Shiso vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $368 vs $238 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Shiso

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

13:11 1:11 PM

12:11 12:11 PM

1 h behind Shiso

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,610

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Shiso Shanghai 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Shiso
Shanghai

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

Shiso vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shiso and Shanghai differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,048 vs $1,256 including rent). Shiso is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,572 in Shiso and $1,884 in Shanghai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $470 in Shiso versus $1,023 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $283 in Shiso versus $1,441 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Shanghai pay roughly 55% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,048 in Shiso versus $1,256 in Shanghai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Shiso but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Shiso 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, Shiso and Shanghai 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 Shiso gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.