Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fuzhou and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Fuzhou: $762 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Fuzhou
Learn more

Fuzhou Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Fuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$762

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $762 in Fuzhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Fuzhou $762
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,227 in Fuzhou versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Fuzhou $1,227
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,692 in Fuzhou versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Fuzhou $1,692
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Fuzhou costs roughly 73% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Fuzhou is 44% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.06 ¥20.47

$17.43 A$25.08

-82.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.06 ¥154

$84.6 A$122

-72.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.08 ¥33.98

$12.46 A$17.92

-59.23%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ¥16.74

$4.11 A$5.91

-39.17%

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

$0.47 ¥3.12

$3.06 A$4.40

-84.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.78

$2.52 A$3.62

-89.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.86 ¥5.73

$9.80 A$14.10

-91.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥11.66

$8.57 A$12.33

-79.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 ¥13.81

$1.48 A$2.14

39.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ¥9.43

$2.94 A$4.23

-52.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.23

$2.66 A$3.82

-65.04%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥10.39

$5.54 A$7.97

-72.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.65 ¥51.1

$10.51 A$15.13

-27.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.18 ¥14.58

$9.65 A$13.89

-77.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.97 ¥60.0

$15.22 A$21.91

-41.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 ¥12.07

$3.99 A$5.75

-54.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 ¥8.81

$3.02 A$4.34

-56.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.68 ¥11.22

$3.10 A$4.46

-45.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 ¥7.14

$4.82 A$6.93

-77.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 ¥5.63

$3.03 A$4.36

-72.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 ¥6.75

$2.44 A$3.52

-58.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.44 ¥2.93

$2.46 A$3.54

-82.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ¥3.49

$1.63 A$2.34

-68.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 ¥20.13

$44.07 A$63.4

-93.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.99 ¥73.5

$12.70 A$18.28

-13.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ¥4.81

$5.54 A$7.97

-87.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 ¥8.13

$5.23 A$7.52

-76.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$3.74 A$5.38

-92.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.66 ¥158

$138 A$198

-82.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ¥10.14

$4.51 A$6.50

-66.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$1.36 A$1.96

-78.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.28 ¥48.68

$30.45 A$43.81

-76.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ¥8.37

$1.47 A$2.12

-14.97%

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

$19.4K ¥129.7K

$29.0K A$41.7K

-33.12%

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

$15.6K ¥104.1K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-41.20%

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

$43.17 ¥289

$234 A$336

-81.53%

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

$8.53 ¥57.1

$27.93 A$40.19

-69.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.94 ¥59.8

$55.7 A$80.2

-83.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.27 ¥283

$49.40 A$71.1

-14.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.76 ¥98.7

$21.48 A$30.91

-31.28%

Cinema Ticket

$7.38 ¥49.31

$15.09 A$21.72

-51.09%

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

$209 ¥1,395

$2,371 A$3,412

-91.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K ¥81.0K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-59.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.90 ¥267

$80.0 A$115

-50.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.42 ¥197

$50.7 A$73.0

-41.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.5 ¥605

$121 A$174

-24.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.9 ¥581

$130 A$188

-33.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$458 ¥3,060

$1,759 A$2,531

-73.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$250 ¥1,672

$1,390 A$2,000

-82.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,038 ¥6,939

$3,494 A$5,027

-70.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$514 ¥3,438

$2,493 A$3,588

-79.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,514 ¥30.2K

$6,926 A$9,967

-34.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,346 ¥15.7K

$6,445 A$9,274

-63.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,006 ¥6,728

$4,383 A$6,307

-77.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

5.9

-41.36%

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

Last update for Fuzhou: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fuzhou

$250 32.8%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 456% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Fuzhou

$175 23%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 119% $209

Clothing & Footwear

Fuzhou

$111 14.6%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 54.7% $61

Eating Out

Fuzhou

$80 10.6%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 291% $234

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fuzhou

$61 8%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 423% $257

Sport & Entertainment

Fuzhou

$57 7.5%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 39.6% $23

Getting Around

Fuzhou

$28 3.6%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 490% $136

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $458 in Fuzhou and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 336% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $23.00 in Fuzhou vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $175 vs $384 per month, with Fuzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Fuzhou

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

09:23 9:23 AM

12:23 12:23 PM

3 h ahead of Fuzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,291,268

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Fuzhou Melbourne 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Fuzhou
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

Fuzhou vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fuzhou wins on cost – living expenses run 270% lower than in Melbourne. 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 336% lower in Melbourne. 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: $458 in Fuzhou versus $1,759 in Melbourne. 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 $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $762 per month in Fuzhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne – a 270% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $762 in Fuzhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fuzhou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. 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.

Safety-wise, Fuzhou 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 Fuzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 270% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.