The Shanghai apps you actually need come down to nine, set up in a clear order. Here is what each one does, the order to install them, and the ones to skip.
The Shanghai apps you actually need come down to nine, set up in a clear order. On day one you want Alipay, WeChat and Amap. In your first week add DiDi, the Metro Metro app, a delivery app and Dianping. Once you settle in, add Taobao and the city's official SuiShenBan. Everything else you can skip. Here is what each one does and the order to install them.
Shanghai runs on your phone more completely than almost anywhere on earth. Cash is rare, cards are optional, and a single scan pays the vendor, unlocks the bike and opens the metro gate. Get the right handful of apps working and daily life goes from baffling to frictionless in about a week.
Which two apps do you set up first?
Alipay and WeChat, before anything else. Between them they handle nearly every payment in the city, from the dumpling stall to your rent, plus a universe of built-in mini-programs that replace separate apps entirely. Link an international card to Alipay and you can pay from the minute you land; WeChat doubles as the messaging app everyone here uses and the way you add a new contact. Our full walkthrough of Alipay and WeChat Pay for newcomers covers linking a foreign card and the tap-to-pay flow. Do this at the airport if you can.
What apps get you around Shanghai?
Three. Amap (Gaode) is the map everyone actually uses: it has live bus and metro times, walking directions and one-tap taxi hailing built in, and it works far better here than the Western map you arrived with. Our guide to using Amap in English makes it usable without Chinese. For door-to-door rides, DiDi is the local Uber and is cheap and reliable. For the subway, the official Metro Metro (Shanghai Metro's app, 大都会) lets you scan a QR into any station and pays the exact fare from your linked account, which beats fumbling for a ticket. The wider picture of trains, taxis and share-bikes is in our guide to getting around Shanghai.
What do you use to eat and shop?
For food, Meituan or Ele.me deliver almost anything to your door in under an hour, and Dianping is the local Yelp for reviews, menus and bookings. Learn to read Dianping's star ratings and per-person price and you will never pick a bad restaurant again; our Dianping in English guide shows how, and ordering delivery is its own short guide. For everything that is not food, Taobao is the giant: order anything imaginable to your door for a fraction of shop prices, once you learn to navigate it in English on Taobao.
Is there an official app expats should install?
Yes, and almost nobody tells you about it. SuiShenBan (随申办) is Shanghai's official government super-app: it holds your health code, handles residence and city-service tasks, and increasingly replaces trips to a counter. It is the one app on this list run by the city rather than a company, and it quietly saves you queues. Our guide to SuiShenBan walks through setting it up with an overseas passport.
Which apps do you actually need, and in what order?
Here is the whole stack on one screen, so you can install top-down and stop when your life works.
What to skip, at least at first: you do not need a separate translation app (Alipay and your phone camera translate on the fly), you do not need a VPN just to run these, and you can ignore the dozens of niche delivery and lifestyle apps until a specific need appears. Nine is plenty.
Good to know
- Good for anyone landing in Shanghai who wants daily life to work fast, without downloading forty apps to find the seven that matter.
- What you will pay the apps are free; you fund Alipay and WeChat from a linked card and pay only for what you buy.
- Make the most of it set up Alipay, WeChat and Amap on day one, add the rest through your first week, and switch your phone's app store region only if a download is blocked.
As the Book of Changes puts it, 穷则变，变则通, when the old way stalls, you change, and the change opens the road, which is exactly what learning this small stack of apps does for a new life here.
What apps do I need before moving to Shanghai?
Install and set up Alipay and WeChat before you arrive, and link an international card to Alipay so you can pay from day one. Add Amap for maps once you land. Those three cover payments and navigation, which are the two things you need working immediately; the rest can wait until your first week.
Can I use Google Maps in Shanghai?
Not well. Google Maps is unreliable inside mainland China and its data is often wrong or missing, so locals use Amap (Gaode) instead, which has live transit times and built-in taxi hailing. Download Amap and treat it as your default map from the day you arrive.
Do I need a Chinese bank account to use these apps?
No, not to start. Alipay and WeChat Pay both accept many international credit and debit cards now, so you can pay for most things straight away. A local bank account makes some top-ups and larger transactions smoother later, but you do not need one to get the essential apps working.
What is the one app expats always forget to install?
SuiShenBan, Shanghai's official government super-app. It holds your health code and handles a growing list of residence and city-service tasks that otherwise mean a trip to a counter, and it is the least talked-about app on any newcomer's list. Set it up with your passport once you have an address.
Words, maps and research by the Choice Shanghai team. Please credit us and tag our 公众号 if you share.
