Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qatar and China

Name: China
Address: CN

For one person, living is cheaper in China: $791 a month against $1,909 in Qatar, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

92

Cost of Living Index in Qatar
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Qatar Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in China
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China Living Index

Jump to prices

🇶🇦 Qatar

$1,909

/mo nomad

🇨🇳 China

$791

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Qatar and in China

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,909 in Qatar versus $791 in China.

Qatar $1,909
China $791

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,082 in Qatar versus $1,251 in China.

Qatar $3,082
China $1,251

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,256 in Qatar versus $1,711 in China.

Qatar $4,256
China $1,711

Internal cost variation is higher in Qatar: monthly costs span $232 to $2,633, compared to $465–$1,222 in China. City choice carries more weight in Qatar.

Living in Qatar is roughly 141% more expensive than in China on average.

Qatar (40% above) and China (42% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.27 QAR 30.10

$2.98 ¥19.77

177.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 QAR 245

$22.09 ¥147

205.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.41 QAR 30.63

$5.20 ¥34.53

61.73%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.24 QAR 48.20

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.46 QAR 48.98

Cappuccino

$5.47 QAR 19.93

$2.97 ¥19.70

84.18%

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

$0.91 QAR 3.30

$0.48 ¥3.18

89.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 QAR 1.26

$0.30 ¥2.00

13.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.08 ¥7.16

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 ¥15.12

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 QAR 7.85

$1.80 ¥11.93

20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 QAR 5.47

$1.68 ¥11.13

-10.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 QAR 7.46

$0.92 ¥6.12

122.83%

Eggs

$3.05 QAR 11.08

$1.61 ¥10.71

89.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.50 QAR 34.57

$13.38 ¥88.9

-29.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.61 QAR 27.70

$3.35 ¥22.23

127.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.03 QAR 36.50

$11.35 ¥75.4

-11.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 QAR 7.70

$1.82 ¥12.10

16.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 QAR 6.41

$1.31 ¥8.68

34.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 QAR 5.94

$1.49 ¥9.87

9.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 QAR 4.57

$1.27 ¥8.46

-0.79%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 QAR 3.37

$0.71 ¥4.72

30.99%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 QAR 3.41

$0.93 ¥6.20

1.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 QAR 4.36

$0.62 ¥4.11

93.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 QAR 2.12

$0.56 ¥3.73

3.57%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$10.39 QAR 37.82

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 QAR 7.44

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 QAR 11.03

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.47 QAR 23.56

$3.78 ¥25.10

71.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.13 ¥80.6

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥5.53

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ¥11.19

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 QAR 1.93

$0.29 ¥1.91

82.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.56 QAR 119

$17.83 ¥118

82.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.17 QAR 7.90

$1.49 ¥9.87

45.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 QAR 6.92

$0.37 ¥2.49

413.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.44 QAR 30.72

$7.10 ¥47.14

18.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.54 QAR 1.98

$1.26 ¥8.36

-57.14%

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

$24.4K QAR 88.7K

$19.4K ¥129.1K

25.26%

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

$21.5K QAR 78.3K

$17.5K ¥116.5K

22.71%

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

$90.0 QAR 328

$54.6 ¥362

64.90%

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

$44.05 QAR 160

$8.73 ¥58.0

404.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$85.5 QAR 311

$11.07 ¥73.5

672.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$167 QAR 607

$40.77 ¥271

309.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.20 QAR 73.5

$14.48 ¥96.2

39.50%

Cinema Ticket

$12.13 QAR 44.15

$6.78 ¥45.03

78.91%

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

$733 QAR 2,669

$517 ¥3,431

41.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,778 QAR 35.6K

$19.8K ¥131.6K

-50.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.8 QAR 203

$46.53 ¥309

19.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.2 QAR 186

$35.66 ¥237

43.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.3 QAR 347

$77.0 ¥511

23.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.0 QAR 302

$80.3 ¥533

3.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,580 QAR 5,753

$386 ¥2,562

309.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$957 QAR 3,485

$235 ¥1,558

308.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,018 QAR 11.0K

$822 ¥5,458

267.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,047 QAR 7,450

$453 ¥3,009

351.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,338 QAR 15.8K

$4,697 ¥31.2K

-7.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,959 QAR 10.8K

$2,372 ¥15.8K

24.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,017 QAR 14.6K

$1,093 ¥7,260

267.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.22

3.46

50.87%

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

Last update for Qatar: October 24, 2026

Last update for China: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Qatar

$957 50.2%

China

$235 29.6% 75.5% $723

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qatar

$220 11.5%

China

$74 9.4% 66.1% $145

Groceries & Markets

Qatar

$204 10.7%

China

$210 26.5% 3% $6.1

Sport & Entertainment

Qatar

$191 10%

China

$54 6.9% 71.6% $137

Eating Out

Qatar

$162 8.5%

China

$88 11.1% 45.7% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Qatar

$128 6.7%

China

$108 13.6% 16.1% $21

Getting Around

Qatar

$46 2.4%

China

$22 2.8% 51.8% $24

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $1,393 in Qatar, $298 in China. Capital cities: $2,014 in Doha vs $933 in Beijing (Pekin).

National salary averages: $4,162 in Qatar, $873 in China. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 367% higher in Qatar.

Dining out costs 164% more in Qatar.

Public transport is 61% more expensive in Qatar.

Salaries are about 4.8 times higher in Qatar, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Qatar.

Good to know

🇶🇦 Qatar

🇨🇳 China

🕒 Local time

19:30 7:30 PM

00:30 12:30 AM

5 h ahead of Qatar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,639,211

1,442,965,000

💱 Currency

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.246 EUR

1 CNY = 0.151 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to QAR – Qatari Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇶🇦 Qatari Riyal (ر.ق)

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.07 QAR (1 QAR = 0.246 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.151 USD). 1 EUR = 7.43 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to QAR in detail →

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Between locations

Qatar China 6,150 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Qatar
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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

Qatar vs China: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $791 per month in China and $1,909 in Qatar, China comes out about 59% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $1,393 in Qatar and $298 in China. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In China, $2,000 covers most cities easily; in Qatar it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you’ll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you’re after: China wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.