Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Foshan and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Foshan: $777 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Foshan
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Foshan Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Foshan

🇨🇳 China

$777

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Foshan and in Rio de Janeiro

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $777 in Foshan versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Foshan $777
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,242 in Foshan versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Foshan $1,242
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,708 in Foshan versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Foshan $1,708
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Foshan costs roughly 40% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Foshan 42% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.78 ¥25.26

$10.06 R$51.0

-62.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.79 ¥152

$40.44 R$205

-43.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥34.19

$8.55 R$43.35

-40.23%

Cappuccino

$3.07 ¥20.50

$2.38 R$12.04

28.99%

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

$0.52 ¥3.49

$1.61 R$8.18

-67.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$1.03 R$5.22

-69.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ¥8.17

$2.47 R$12.54

-50.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ¥12.61

$3.70 R$18.77

-48.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ¥11.11

$1.19 R$6.05

39.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 ¥7.48

$2.05 R$10.38

-45.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.16

$1.28 R$6.49

-28.13%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.38

$2.29 R$11.60

-25.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.68 ¥112

$10.76 R$54.5

55.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ¥26.18

$4.41 R$22.36

-11.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.69 ¥71.5

$9.84 R$49.86

8.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 ¥20.16

$2.81 R$14.25

7.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 ¥8.51

$1.78 R$9.03

-28.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 ¥12.69

$1.60 R$8.13

18.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 ¥10.91

$1.80 R$9.11

-9.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.27

$1.22 R$6.17

-10.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ¥6.38

$1.04 R$5.26

-8.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 ¥4.26

$0.77 R$3.92

-16.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ¥3.36

$0.67 R$3.38

-25.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.23 ¥14.89

$3.01 R$15.27

-25.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.23 ¥68.4

$8.08 R$40.94

26.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 ¥6.24

$1.19 R$6.03

-21.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 ¥10.13

$2.51 R$12.73

-39.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$0.99 R$5.00

-68.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.62 ¥71.0

$50.1 R$254

-78.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ¥10.18

$1.22 R$6.20

24.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.15

$0.92 R$4.66

-48.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.81 ¥58.9

$8.97 R$45.45

-1.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.19

$1.30 R$6.57

-6.15%

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

$21.3K ¥142.3K

$23.9K R$121.0K

-10.86%

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

$16.2K ¥108.3K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-50.72%

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

$84.5 ¥565

$133 R$676

-36.64%

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

$7.92 ¥53.0

$10.82 R$54.8

-26.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.69 ¥105

$22.90 R$116

-31.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ¥477

$30.79 R$156

131.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.83 ¥159

$31.85 R$161

-25.18%

Cinema Ticket

$5.31 ¥35.50

$8.05 R$40.83

-34.04%

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

$457 ¥3,054

$598 R$3,029

-23.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ¥155.8K

$13.4K R$68.0K

73.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.21 ¥282

$42.04 R$213

0.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.76 ¥125

$49.68 R$252

-62.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.1 ¥415

$74.5 R$378

-16.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 ¥614

$68.7 R$348

33.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 ¥2,031

$903 R$4,578

-66.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$159 ¥1,061

$529 R$2,684

-70.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 ¥3,982

$1,326 R$6,724

-55.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$341 ¥2,279

$756 R$3,831

-54.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,329 ¥28.9K

$4,010 R$20.3K

7.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,864 ¥12.5K

$1,560 R$7,910

19.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$802 ¥5,362

$640 R$3,242

25.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.83

11.93

-67.90%

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

Last update for Foshan: October 11, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Foshan

$220 28.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 2.6% $5.7

Accommodation & Living

Foshan

$159 20.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 234% $371

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Foshan

$108 13.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 54.6% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Foshan

$97 12.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 9.3% $9

Eating Out

Foshan

$96 12.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 72.6% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Foshan

$82 10.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 42.8% $35

Getting Around

Foshan

$16 2%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 280% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $304 in Foshan and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Foshan pays 25% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Foshan vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $220 vs $215, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Foshan

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

11:44 11:44 AM

00:44 12:44 AM

11 h behind Foshan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,498,863

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Foshan Rio de Janeiro 17,590 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Foshan
Rio de Janeiro

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

Foshan vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Foshan is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and utilities. The 66% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 25% higher in Foshan, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $304 in Foshan versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Foshan runs roughly 372% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $457 in Foshan versus $598 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $777 in Foshan versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Foshan but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Foshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Foshan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Rio de Janeiro, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Foshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.