Cost of living comparison

Shanghai, China

compared to

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Bangkok is 4.4% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 3.0% less in Bangkok
Groceries: pay 17.2% more in Bangkok
Transportation: pay 66.5% more in Bangkok
Housing: pay 8.8% less in Bangkok
Childcare: pay 50.6% less in Bangkok
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.3% more in Bangkok
Clothing: pay 0.1% more in Bangkok

The cost of transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Bangkok are more expensive than in Shanghai. Expenses including childcare, housing, and restaurants are lower in Bangkok.

Bangkok vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bangkok instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.0% less for restaurants

	Shanghai	Bangkok
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥30.42	$2.91 THB97.61	-30.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 CN¥40.08	$5.83 THB195.22	+5.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 CN¥3.74	$0.62 THB20.63	+19.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.32 CN¥2.30	$0.29 THB9.78	-7.5%
Average			-3.0%

Shanghai vs. Bangkok - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.2% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Bangkok
Bread 1 loaf	$2.01 CN¥14.62	$1.52 THB51.01	-24.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.94 CN¥57.87	$11.74 THB393.39	+47.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.61 CN¥62.72	$7.32 THB245.24	-15.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.69 CN¥12.29	$2.27 THB76.14	+34.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥11.07	$1.31 THB44.05	-13.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 CN¥7.49	$1.47 THB49.30	+43.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CN¥5.35	$0.73 THB24.34	-1.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.73	$1.04 THB34.69	+12.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.41	$0.80 THB26.96	+8.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥3.12	$0.71 THB23.88	+66.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 CN¥3.48	$0.62 THB20.86	+30.3%
Average			+17.2%

Shanghai vs. Bangkok - Cost of groceries

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pay 66.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Bangkok
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 CN¥32.05	$4.47 THB149.63	+1.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.79 CN¥253.52	$39.32 THB1,317.75	+13.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,844.35 CN¥151,907.36	$55,345.18 THB1,854,616.68	+165.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.57 CN¥40.56	$10.34 THB346.52	+85.8%
Average			+66.5%

Shanghai vs. Bangkok - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.8% less for housing

	Shanghai	Bangkok
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.44 CN¥119.84	$15.36 THB514.72	-6.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,017.22 CN¥7,413.19	$571.31 THB19,144.43	-43.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$526.38 CN¥3,836.07	$301.88 THB10,116.09	-42.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.67 CN¥310.93	$67.33 THB2,256.25	+57.8%
Average			-8.8%

Shanghai vs. Bangkok - Cost of housing

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pay 50.6% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Bangkok
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,147.00 CN¥8,359.02	$632.63 THB21,199.54	-44.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,296.28 CN¥220,790.23	$13,191.37 THB442,042.63	-56.5%
Average			-50.6%

Shanghai vs. Bangkok - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Bangkok
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.39 CN¥10.14	$2.33 THB78.09	+67.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.53 CN¥25.71	$2.58 THB86.58	-26.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥25.35	$4.20 THB140.80	+20.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.86 CN¥407.12	$54.58 THB1,828.91	-2.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥60.84	$7.28 THB244.03	-12.8%
Average			+9.3%

Shanghai vs. Bangkok - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Bangkok
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.36 CN¥432.61	$55.27 THB1,852.04	-6.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.88 CN¥283.32	$34.84 THB1,167.45	-10.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.91 CN¥567.81	$97.10 THB3,253.68	+24.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.07 CN¥721.98	$92.12 THB3,086.96	-7.0%
Average			+0.1%

Shanghai vs. Bangkok - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

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