Cost per Square Metre Estimator
Cost per m² and in total by structure, region and finish.
Quick answer
With the default inputs: Gross floor area 1000 m² · Structure Frame · Region Tier 2 city etc.Cost per m² 2200 CNY/m²
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Result
Cost per m²
2200CNY/m²
| Total cost | 220.0010k CNY |
| Structure base rate | 2000CNY/m² |
| Region factor | 1.10 |
| Finish factor | 1.00 |
| Structure (about 55%) | 121.0010k CNY |
| Services (about 25%) | 55.0010k CNY |
| Finishes (about 15%) | 33.0010k CNY |
| Other and tax (about 5%) | 11.0010k CNY |
| Cost per 100 m² | 22.0010k CNY |
The base rates sit at the lower middle of recent construction cost ranges and exclude land, professional fees, utilities and external works. Real projects vary widely: basements cost more than twice the above-ground rate, high-rise runs 15-25% above low-rise, and prefabricated construction 10-20% above cast in situ. This is an order-of-magnitude check for option studies, not a quotation.
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Formula
| Cost per m² | base rate × region × finish |
| Total | rate × gross floor area |
| Structure | about 55% |
| Services | about 25% |
| Finishes | about 15% |
| Other and tax | about 5% |
1000 m² of frame structure in a tier 2 city, shell finish: 2000 × 1.10 × 1.00 = 2200 per m², 2.20 million in total, of which roughly 1.21 million is structure and 0.55 million services.
Indicative cost per m² by building type, excluding land and utilities
| Building type | Cost per m² CNY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Low-rise masonry housing | 1400-1800 | Up to six storeys |
| High-rise frame housing | 2000-2600 | Including foundations |
| High-rise shear wall housing | 2200-2800 | Including piles |
| Basement car park | 3500-5000 | With shoring and anti-flotation |
| Office, mid-range | 2500-3500 | Excluding furniture |
| Steel industrial shed | 1200-2000 | Excluding process plant |
| School building | 2000-2800 | |
| Hospital | 3500-5000 | Excluding medical equipment |
How to work it out
- Pick the structural baseline: 1600 CNY/m² for brick-concrete, 2000 for frame, 2200 for shear wall, 2300 for frame-shear wall, 1900 for steel. These are construction cost figures — land, survey and design, permits and external works are all excluded.
- Apply the regional factor: 1.25 for tier-one cities, 1.10 for tier-two, 1.00 for tier-three, 0.90 for counties and below. The difference comes mainly from labour rates and haulage distance for concrete and steel, not from material prices themselves.
- Apply the finish factor: 1.00 shell, 1.25 basic, 1.55 mid-range, 2.10 high-end. Finishes are the most elastic item — the same structure can run from a few hundred to over ten thousand per square metre.
- Multiply cost per m² by floor area for the total. Floor area follows GB/T 50353-2013, which is neither usable area nor the outline of the external walls.
- Sanity-check the split: civil works about 55%, services about 25%, finishes about 15%, other and tax about 5%. A clear deviation usually means mixed costing bases, such as high-end finishes counted inside civil works.
- Back-check against actual settlement figures from comparable projects. A deviation over 15% means re-examining structure type, storey count, basement provision and finish standard — the four biggest sources of error.
Where it goes wrong
- Treating construction cost as total project investment. Land, survey and design, statutory fees, external services and roads, landscaping, supervision and finance costs are all outside it, and total investment is typically 1.5-2.5 times construction cost — over five times in tier-one cities once land is included.
- Multiplying cost per m² by usable area. A 100 m² usable flat is about 115-125 m² of floor area, so the total comes out 20% light.
- Ignoring the basement. Basement costs two to three times the above-ground rate because of excavation, retaining, waterproofing and uplift resistance; a 10,000 m² car park can lift the project average by 300-500 CNY/m².
- Applying one set of factors throughout. Storey count, seismic intensity, civil-defence provision and foundation type all move the number materially — the same structure type in the same city can vary 30% between projects.
Material and cost
Typical 2024-2025 ranges for construction cost excluding land and external works: brick-concrete 1400-1800 CNY/m², frame 1800-2400, shear wall high-rise residential 2000-2800, frame-shear wall 2100-3000, steel industrial 1600-2400. Basement car parks 3500-5500. These are estimating figures; formal quotations require bill-of-quantities pricing.
On site
- Services are the item most often underestimated at concept stage. Fire, ventilation, ELV and lifts together commonly account for 20-30%, and estimates tend to squeeze them below 15%.
- Steel structures look cheap per square metre until fireproofing, corrosion protection, metal decking and the envelope are added — the real all-in figure often exceeds 2500.
- Prefabricated construction carries a premium for precast components, typically 200-400 CNY/m², offset by programme and labour savings. Compare both sides.
- Before negotiating on an estimate, pin down the basis: with or without tax, with or without client-supplied materials, with or without main-contractor fees. Three different bases can differ by 15%.
Basis
- GB 50500-2013 Code of bills of quantities and valuation for construction works
- GB/T 50353-2013 Standard measurement for construction area of building
- GB/T 51262-2017 Standard for classification and measurement of construction cost indices
FAQ
Why can the same area cost twice as much?
Because cost per square metre is highly sensitive to structure and height. Six-storey masonry runs about 1600 per m² while thirty storeys of shear wall on piles exceeds 3000; a basement with shoring and anti-flotation reaches 4000-5000. Ground conditions, seismic category and prefabrication targets all push it up further, so adjust any estimate for the actual project.
What is and is not included?
Structural, plumbing, electrical, HVAC and finishes are in. Out are land, survey and design, supervision, permit fees, utility connections, external roads and landscaping, and furniture or equipment. Cheap-looking rates often omit exactly these, and the total investment usually needs another 30-60% on top.
How much does the finish standard matter?
Enormously, and not linearly. Shell to simple adds 400-600 per m², to mid-range 1000-1500, and to high-end over 3000 with stone, joinery and bespoke furniture. In commercial work finishes reach 40-50% of total cost, more than the structure itself. Fix the standard before estimating, or the range doubles.
Cite this page
Use this format in reports, method statements or coursework. The link is permanent.
Building Calculator. Cost per Square Metre Estimator. 2026-10-25. https://jianzhujisuan.com/en/cost-per-m2
Results are estimating aids only and are not a design basis. Construction and final accounts must follow the drawings, the applicable standards and an approved method statement. Anything affecting structural safety, shoring or falsework must be checked by a suitably qualified engineer.