Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Midrand and Fuzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Fuzhou: $762 a month against $1,085 in Midrand, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Midrand
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Midrand Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Fuzhou
Learn more

Fuzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Midrand

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,085

/mo nomad

Fuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$762

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Midrand and in Fuzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,085 in Midrand versus $762 in Fuzhou.

Midrand $1,085
Fuzhou $762

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,611 in Midrand versus $1,227 in Fuzhou.

Midrand $1,611
Fuzhou $1,227

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,138 in Midrand versus $1,692 in Fuzhou.

Midrand $2,138
Fuzhou $1,692

Living in Midrand is roughly 42% more expensive than in Fuzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Midrand 20% lower, Fuzhou 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.84 R 96.2

$3.06 ¥20.47

90.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.52 R 486

$23.06 ¥154

28.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.96 R 48.74

$5.08 ¥33.98

-41.73%

Cappuccino

$1.83 R 30.09

$2.50 ¥16.74

-26.80%

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

$1.21 R 19.94

$0.47 ¥3.12

157.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 R 14.16

$0.27 ¥1.78

218.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.21 R 36.44

$0.86 ¥5.73

156.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 R 38.89

$1.74 ¥11.66

35.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 R 21.12

$2.06 ¥13.81

-37.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 R 19.10

$1.41 ¥9.43

-17.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R 21.27

$0.93 ¥6.23

38.71%

Eggs

$2.71 R 44.72

$1.55 ¥10.39

74.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.41 R 139

$7.65 ¥51.1

9.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.53 R 91.2

$2.18 ¥14.58

153.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.75 R 144

$8.97 ¥60.0

-2.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 R 33.32

$1.80 ¥12.07

12.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 R 18.14

$1.32 ¥8.81

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.21

$1.68 ¥11.22

5.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.24

$1.07 ¥7.14

42.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 R 27.94

$0.84 ¥5.63

102.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.52

$1.01 ¥6.75

77.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.22

$0.44 ¥2.93

179.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 R 20.77

$0.52 ¥3.49

142.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.24 R 53.4

$3.01 ¥20.13

7.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.34 R 87.9

$10.99 ¥73.5

-51.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 R 14.73

$0.72 ¥4.81

23.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 R 19.34

$1.22 ¥8.13

-4.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 R 25.03

$0.29 ¥1.93

424.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.66 ¥158

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 R 14.39

$1.52 ¥10.14

-42.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 R 9.57

$0.29 ¥1.91

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.32 R 236

$7.28 ¥48.68

96.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 R 22.67

$1.25 ¥8.37

10.40%

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

$33.5K R 552.3K

$19.4K ¥129.7K

72.84%

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

$30.0K R 493.5K

$15.6K ¥104.1K

92.43%

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

$105 R 1,738

$43.17 ¥289

144.36%

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

$23.81 R 392

$8.53 ¥57.1

179.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.03 R 594

$8.94 ¥59.8

303.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.53 R 519

$42.27 ¥283

-25.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 R 180

$14.76 ¥98.7

-26.02%

Cinema Ticket

$7.63 R 126

$7.38 ¥49.31

3.39%

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

$179 R 2,955

$209 ¥1,395

-14.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,551 R 91.5K

$12.1K ¥81.0K

-54.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.5 R 931

$39.90 ¥267

41.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.37 R 764

$29.42 ¥197

57.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 R 1,402

$90.5 ¥605

-5.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.8 R 1,364

$86.9 ¥581

-4.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$472 R 7,775

$458 ¥3,060

3.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$442 R 7,282

$250 ¥1,672

76.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$834 R 13.7K

$1,038 ¥6,939

-19.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 R 12.2K

$514 ¥3,438

43.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$886 R 14.6K

$4,514 ¥30.2K

-80.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$655 R 10.8K

$2,346 ¥15.7K

-72.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,006 ¥6,728

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

3.46

215.32%

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

Last update for Midrand: October 11, 2026

Last update for Fuzhou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Midrand

$442 40.8%

Fuzhou

$250 32.8% 43.4% $192

Groceries & Markets

Midrand

$197 18.2%

Fuzhou

$175 23% 11.3% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Midrand

$165 15.2%

Fuzhou

$61 8% 63.3% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Midrand

$122 11.2%

Fuzhou

$111 14.6% 8.9% $11

Eating Out

Midrand

$102 9.4%

Fuzhou

$80 10.6% 20.7% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Midrand

$47 4.3%

Fuzhou

$57 7.5% 21.9% $10

Getting Around

Midrand

$9.9 * 0.9%

Fuzhou

$28 3.6% 182% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $472 in Midrand and $458 in Fuzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $30.00 in Midrand vs $23.00 in Fuzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $175 per month, with Fuzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Midrand

🇨🇳 Fuzhou

🕒 Local time

19:55 7:55 PM

01:55 1:55 AM

6 h ahead of Midrand

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

87,387

8,291,268

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Midrand Fuzhou 11,350 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Midrand
Fuzhou

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

Midrand vs Fuzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fuzhou wins on cost – living expenses run 42% lower than in Midrand. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Fuzhou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,627 in Midrand and $1,143 in Fuzhou to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $472 in Midrand versus $458 in Fuzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Midrand. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,085 per month in Midrand versus $762 in Fuzhou – a 42% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $762 in Fuzhou versus $1,085 in Midrand, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fuzhou but tight or insufficient in Midrand. The gap between the two cities makes Fuzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Fuzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Midrand. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.