---
title: "Cost of Living: Seoul vs Shanghai — Geo-Parity"
description: "China is 26% cheaper than South Korea for monthly essentials ($981 vs $1,334). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-south-korea/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=KR&target=CN"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · KR vs CN

# 🇰🇷 Seoul vs 🇨🇳 Shanghai: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$1,334** in South Korea vs **$981** in China — 26% cheaper.

- **Essentials, South Korea**: $1,334/mo
- **Essentials, China**: $981/mo
- **Difference**: -26%
- **1-bed city rent, China**: $628/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in China

- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -30%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -30%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -30%

Closest to South Korea prices

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -9%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -9.5%
- Running shoes (brand): -9.6%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | South Korea | China | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $894 | $628 (4,516 CNY) | -30% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $715 | $502 (3,613 CNY) | -30% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,635 | $1,149 (8,258 CNY) | -30% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $10.62 | $8.05 (58 CNY) | -24% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $44.25 | $33.53 (241 CNY) | -24% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $6.81 | $5.29 (38 CNY) | -22% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.75 | $0.61 (4 CNY) | -19% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.18 | $1.78 (13 CNY) | -18% |
| Eggs, dozen | $2.32 | $1.89 (14 CNY) | -19% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $6.81 | $5.57 (40 CNY) | -18% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.73 | $2.23 (16 CNY) | -18% |
| Apples, 1kg | $3.27 | $2.67 (19 CNY) | -18% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $8.18 | $6.68 (48 CNY) | -18% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.36 | $1.11 (8 CNY) | -18% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $3.54 | $2.68 (19 CNY) | -24% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.60 | $5.97 (43 CNY) | -9.5% |
| Cappuccino | $2.95 | $2.24 (16 CNY) | -24% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.57 | $1.28 (9 CNY) | -18% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $40.24 | $31.27 (225 CNY) | -22% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.70 | $1.32 (9 CNY) | -22% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $2.36 | $1.79 (13 CNY) | -24% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.06 | $0.80 (6 CNY) | -25% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.78 | $0.71 (5 CNY) | -9% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $124 | $96.20 (692 CNY) | -22% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $43.33 | $33.67 (242 CNY) | -22% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $27.86 | $21.65 (156 CNY) | -22% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $29.50 | $22.35 (161 CNY) | -24% |
| Cinema seat | $8.26 | $6.26 (45 CNY) | -24% |
| Men's haircut | $17.70 | $13.41 (96 CNY) | -24% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $45.40 | $41.04 (295 CNY) | -9.6% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $74.29 | $67.16 (483 CNY) | -9.6% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $148 | $112 (804 CNY) | -24% |

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=KR&target=CN).

## 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 **1,485 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 🇨🇳 China |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $2,316 | $767 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $797 | — |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 34.4% | — |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $1,058 | $246 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 2.6 | 3.1 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Seoul and Shanghai. | 76 | 77 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | strong | middling |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2 (very low) | 2.9 (low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 18 | 6 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 19.2 | 32.1 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 83.6 | 78 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 97.9% | 91.6% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 273.4 | 31.4 |

## The whole South Korea → China 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 South Korea → China report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/south-korea-to-china/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

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

## More comparisons

### South Korea compared with

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

### Moving to China from

- [Portugal vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-china/)
- [Singapore vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/singapore-vs-china/)
- [Greece vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/greece-vs-china/)
- [Japan vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/japan-vs-china/)
- [Czechia vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/czechia-vs-china/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-china/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is China than South Korea?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $981 in China versus $1,334 in South Korea — 26% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in China?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $2.68 in China (≈ 19.27 CNY), versus about $3.54 in South Korea.
- **How much is rent in China compared to South Korea?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $628/month in China versus $894/month in South Korea (-30%). 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=KR&target=CN.

---

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