Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Fuzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Fuzhou: $762 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Fuzhou
Learn more

Fuzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Fuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$762

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro 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 Rio de Janeiro and in Fuzhou actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $762 in Fuzhou.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Fuzhou $762

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,227 in Fuzhou.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Fuzhou $1,227

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,692 in Fuzhou.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Fuzhou $1,692

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 69% more expensive than in Fuzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Fuzhou 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$3.06 ¥20.47

228.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$23.06 ¥154

75.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$5.08 ¥33.98

68.31%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$2.50 ¥16.74

-4.80%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$0.47 ¥3.12

242.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$0.27 ¥1.78

281.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$0.86 ¥5.73

187.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$1.74 ¥11.66

112.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$2.06 ¥13.81

-42.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$1.41 ¥9.43

45.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$0.93 ¥6.23

37.63%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$1.55 ¥10.39

47.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$7.65 ¥51.1

40.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$2.18 ¥14.58

102.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$8.97 ¥60.0

9.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$1.80 ¥12.07

56.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.32 ¥8.81

34.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$1.68 ¥11.22

-4.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$1.07 ¥7.14

68.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$0.84 ¥5.63

45.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.01 ¥6.75

2.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$0.44 ¥2.93

75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$0.52 ¥3.49

28.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$3.01 ¥20.13

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$10.99 ¥73.5

-26.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$0.72 ¥4.81

65.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$1.22 ¥8.13

105.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$0.29 ¥1.93

241.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

$23.66 ¥158

111.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$1.52 ¥10.14

-19.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$0.29 ¥1.91

217.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$7.28 ¥48.68

23.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.25 ¥8.37

4.00%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$19.4K ¥129.7K

23.10%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$15.6K ¥104.1K

111.11%

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

$133 R$676

$43.17 ¥289

209.01%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$8.53 ¥57.1

26.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$8.94 ¥59.8

156.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$42.27 ¥283

-27.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

$14.76 ¥98.7

115.79%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$7.38 ¥49.31

9.08%

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

$598 R$3,029

$209 ¥1,395

186.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$12.1K ¥81.0K

10.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$39.90 ¥267

5.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$29.42 ¥197

68.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$90.5 ¥605

-17.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$86.9 ¥581

-20.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$458 ¥3,060

97.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$250 ¥1,672

111.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$1,038 ¥6,939

27.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$514 ¥3,438

46.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$4,514 ¥30.2K

-11.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$2,346 ¥15.7K

-33.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

$1,006 ¥6,728

-36.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

3.46

244.80%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Last update for Fuzhou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Fuzhou

$250 32.8% 52.8% $279

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Fuzhou

$175 23% 18.5% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Fuzhou

$61 8% 63.7% $106

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Fuzhou

$80 10.6% 51.2% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Fuzhou

$111 14.6% 5% $5.3

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Fuzhou

$28 3.6% 53.6% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Fuzhou

$57 7.5% 21.6% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $903 in Rio de Janeiro and $458 in Fuzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fuzhou pays 57% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $23.00 in Fuzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $175 per month, with Fuzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇳 Fuzhou

🕒 Local time

14:56 2:56 PM

01:56 1:56 AM

11 h ahead of Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

8,291,268

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Fuzhou 18,210 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
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

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

Fuzhou wins on cost – living expenses run 69% lower than in Rio de Janeiro. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Fuzhou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 57% lower in Fuzhou. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $903 in Rio de Janeiro versus $458 in Fuzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Fuzhou – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,289 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $762 in Fuzhou – a 69% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $762 in Fuzhou versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fuzhou but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Fuzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Fuzhou delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $762 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Fuzhou hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Fuzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.