Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Changshu and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Changshu: $707 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Changshu
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Changshu Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Changshu

🇨🇳 China

$707

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Changshu and in Melbourne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $707 in Changshu versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Changshu $707
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,120 in Changshu versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Changshu $1,120
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,532 in Changshu versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Changshu $1,532
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Changshu costs roughly 75% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Changshu is 47% below, Melbourne is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.71 ¥18.12

$17.75 A$25.51

-84.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.35 ¥143

$84.8 A$122

-74.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.98 ¥33.30

$12.16 A$17.47

-59.05%

Cappuccino

$3.09 ¥20.67

$3.93 A$5.64

-21.37%

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

$0.43 ¥2.88

$3.14 A$4.51

-86.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$2.43 A$3.49

-88.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.94 ¥6.27

$9.90 A$14.23

-90.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ¥13.78

$8.29 A$11.91

-75.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.87 ¥12.49

$1.55 A$2.22

20.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 ¥10.44

$3.01 A$4.32

-48.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.90 ¥6.03

$2.88 A$4.14

-68.75%

Eggs

$1.54 ¥10.31

$5.44 A$7.82

-71.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.88 ¥86.1

$10.59 A$15.23

21.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.17 ¥21.16

$9.61 A$13.81

-67.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.11 ¥67.5

$14.99 A$21.55

-32.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.82 ¥12.19

$4.15 A$5.97

-56.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.25 ¥8.33

$3.05 A$4.39

-59.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 ¥10.29

$3.30 A$4.74

-53.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 ¥7.64

$4.76 A$6.84

-76.05%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ¥4.60

$3.04 A$4.36

-77.30%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.98

$2.55 A$3.67

-65.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.76

$2.48 A$3.56

-77.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ¥3.37

$1.63 A$2.34

-69.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 ¥20.35

$44.07 A$63.3

-93.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.65 ¥71.2

$12.43 A$17.86

-14.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥4.97

$5.33 A$7.66

-86.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ¥10.91

$5.16 A$7.41

-68.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 ¥1.78

$3.84 A$5.52

-92.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.85 ¥113

$142 A$203

-88.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.37 ¥9.16

$4.40 A$6.32

-68.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ¥2.35

$1.40 A$2.02

-75.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.82 ¥45.56

$29.83 A$42.86

-77.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 ¥7.61

$1.46 A$2.10

-21.92%

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

$19.4K ¥129.4K

$28.1K A$40.4K

-31.24%

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

$16.9K ¥113.2K

$25.9K A$37.3K

-34.74%

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

$44.92 ¥300

$233 A$334

-80.69%

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

$9.95 ¥66.5

$27.28 A$39.20

-63.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.63 ¥77.7

$57.0 A$82.0

-79.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.26 ¥282

$52.7 A$75.7

-19.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.67 ¥91.3

$22.62 A$32.50

-39.57%

Cinema Ticket

$5.88 ¥39.29

$17.10 A$24.58

-65.61%

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

$340 ¥2,272

$2,373 A$3,411

-85.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K ¥114.4K

$30.5K A$43.8K

-43.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 ¥290

$78.2 A$112

-44.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.09 ¥201

$50.5 A$72.5

-40.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.8 ¥473

$121 A$173

-41.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 ¥490

$133 A$191

-44.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$277 ¥1,853

$1,713 A$2,461

-83.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ¥1,281

$1,402 A$2,015

-86.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 ¥3,986

$3,339 A$4,798

-82.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$355 ¥2,370

$2,529 A$3,634

-85.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,056 ¥20.4K

$7,018 A$10.1K

-56.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,007 ¥13.4K

$6,767 A$9,725

-70.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,077

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

5.9

-34.07%

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

Last update for Changshu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Changshu

$198 27.7%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 94.8% $187

Accommodation & Living

Changshu

$192 26.8%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 631% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Changshu

$98 13.7%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 75.8% $74

Eating Out

Changshu

$85 12%

Melbourne

$314 11% 268% $229

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Changshu

$67 9.3%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 377% $250

Sport & Entertainment

Changshu

$54 7.6%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 60.8% $33

Getting Around

Changshu

$21 3%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 700% $147

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $277 in Changshu and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21.00 in Changshu vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $385 per month, with Changshu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Changshu

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

14:42 2:42 PM

17:42 5:42 PM

3 h ahead of Changshu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,677,050

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Changshu Melbourne 8,120 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Changshu
Melbourne

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

Changshu vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Changshu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 303% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,061 in Changshu and $4,277 in Melbourne 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: $277 in Changshu versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Changshu – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $707 per month in Changshu versus $2,852 in Melbourne – a 303% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $707 in Changshu versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Changshu but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Changshu 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.

Safety-wise, Changshu and Melbourne are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Changshu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 303% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.