---
title: "Cost of Living: Shanghai vs Bengaluru — Geo-Parity"
description: "India is 59% cheaper than China for monthly essentials ($402 vs $981). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-india/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=IN"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · CN vs IN

# 🇨🇳 Shanghai vs 🇮🇳 Bengaluru: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$981** in China vs **$402** in India — 59% cheaper.

- **Essentials, China**: $981/mo
- **Essentials, India**: $402/mo
- **Difference**: -59%
- **1-bed city rent, India**: $221/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in India

- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -65%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -65%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -65%

Closest to China prices

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -25%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -26%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -26%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | China | India | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $628 | $221 (19,251 INR) | -65% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $502 | $177 (15,401 INR) | -65% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,149 | $404 (35,202 INR) | -65% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $8.05 | $3.54 (309 INR) | -56% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $33.53 | $14.75 (1,286 INR) | -56% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $5.29 | $2.51 (219 INR) | -53% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.61 | $0.34 (30 INR) | -44% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.78 | $0.98 (85 INR) | -45% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.89 | $1.04 (91 INR) | -45% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.57 | $3.06 (267 INR) | -45% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.23 | $1.23 (107 INR) | -45% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.67 | $1.47 (128 INR) | -45% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $6.68 | $3.68 (321 INR) | -45% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.11 | $0.61 (53 INR) | -45% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.68 | $1.18 (103 INR) | -56% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.97 | $4.43 (386 INR) | -26% |
| Cappuccino | $2.24 | $0.98 (85 INR) | -56% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.28 | $0.70 (61 INR) | -45% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $31.27 | $14.82 (1,292 INR) | -53% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.32 | $0.63 (55 INR) | -52% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.79 | $0.79 (69 INR) | -56% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.80 | $0.35 (31 INR) | -56% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.71 | $0.53 (46 INR) | -25% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $96.20 | $45.60 (3,974 INR) | -53% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $33.67 | $15.96 (1,391 INR) | -53% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $21.65 | $10.26 (894 INR) | -53% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $22.35 | $9.83 (857 INR) | -56% |
| Cinema seat | $6.26 | $2.75 (240 INR) | -56% |
| Men's haircut | $13.41 | $5.90 (514 INR) | -56% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $41.04 | $30.45 (2,654 INR) | -26% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $67.16 | $49.82 (4,342 INR) | -26% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $112 | $49.17 (4,286 INR) | -56% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=CN&target=IN).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **4,371 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇨🇳 China | 🇮🇳 India |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $767 | $199 |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $246 | $37.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.1 | 0.7 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Shanghai and Bengaluru. | 77 | 54 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | middling | weak |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.9 (low) | 5.2 (high) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 6 | — |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 32.1 | 43.1 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 78 | 72.2 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.5 | 2.8 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 91.6% | 70% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 31.4 | 93.6 |

## The whole China → India move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the China → India report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/china-to-india/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: India vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/india-vs-china/)
- [Fair salary: China → India](https://geo-parity.com/salary/china-to-india/)
- [How much to retire in India?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/india/)
- [Cost of living in India vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/india/)

## More comparisons

### China compared with

- [China vs Indonesia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-indonesia/)
- [China vs Vietnam](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-vietnam/)
- [China vs Thailand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-thailand/)
- [China vs Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-egypt/)
- [China vs Malaysia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-malaysia/)
- [China vs Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-nigeria/)

### Moving to India from

- [Chile vs India](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/chile-vs-india/)
- [Saudi Arabia vs India](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/saudi-arabia-vs-india/)
- [Argentina vs India](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-india/)
- [Brazil vs India](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/brazil-vs-india/)
- [Poland vs India](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/poland-vs-india/)
- [Hungary vs India](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/hungary-vs-india/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is India than China?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $402 in India versus $981 in China — 59% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in India?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $1.18 in India (≈ 102.85 INR), versus about $2.68 in China.
- **How much is rent in India compared to China?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $221/month in India versus $628/month in China (-65%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=IN.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-india/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=IN