Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Haikou and Sydney

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $806 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index
155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index

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Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Haikou and in Sydney

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $806 in Haikou versus $3,152 in Sydney.

Haikou $806
Sydney $3,152

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,152 in Haikou versus $4,710 in Sydney.

Haikou $1,152
Sydney $4,710

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,497 in Haikou versus $6,268 in Sydney.

Haikou $1,497
Sydney $6,268

Living in Haikou costs roughly 74% less than in Sydney, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Haikou is 40% below, Sydney is 133% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ¥29.45

$17.57 A$25.29

-74.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.72 ¥98.4

$91.5 A$132

-83.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.02 ¥40.26

$11.96 A$17.21

-49.67%

Cappuccino

$2.43 ¥16.25

$4.07 A$5.85

-40.29%

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

$0.86 ¥5.74

$2.85 A$4.10

-69.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ¥2.27

$2.25 A$3.24

-84.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 ¥10.06

$7.60 A$10.94

-80.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 ¥18.18

$7.43 A$10.69

-63.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 ¥14.26

$1.66 A$2.38

28.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 ¥9.90

$2.78 A$4.00

-46.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ¥4.40

$2.42 A$3.49

-72.73%

Eggs

$1.36 ¥9.07

$5.64 A$8.12

-75.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ¥26.23

$9.66 A$13.89

-59.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.42 ¥103

$16.75 A$24.10

-7.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 ¥11.30

$4.07 A$5.85

-58.48%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.80

$3.25 A$4.68

-73.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.40

$3.44 A$4.96

-67.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.24

$4.28 A$6.16

-78.27%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.95

$3.28 A$4.72

-72.87%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.85

$2.30 A$3.30

-68.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ¥3.12

$2.30 A$3.31

-79.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.83

$1.21 A$1.74

-52.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ¥20.68

$43.71 A$62.9

-92.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.76 ¥58.6

$13.88 A$19.97

-36.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.84

$3.90 A$5.62

-85.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ¥8.23

$3.91 A$5.63

-68.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$3.04 A$4.38

-69.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ¥356

$150 A$216

-64.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.19 ¥14.66

$3.38 A$4.86

-35.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.86

$1.56 A$2.24

-72.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.15

$1.40 A$2.01

-12.86%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

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

$35.41 ¥237

$223 A$320

-84.09%

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

$13.21 ¥88.3

$27.16 A$39.08

-51.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.38 ¥89.4

$55.8 A$80.3

-76.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.67 ¥305

$74.6 A$107

-38.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.33 ¥42.35

$23.99 A$34.52

-73.61%

Cinema Ticket

$4.50 ¥30.10

$17.56 A$25.27

-74.37%

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

$862 ¥5,762

$2,196 A$3,160

-60.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.5K ¥130.4K

$28.2K A$40.6K

-30.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.00 ¥181

$78.4 A$113

-65.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 ¥233

$68.4 A$98.5

-49.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.76 ¥299

$111 A$160

-59.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.57 ¥251

$134 A$193

-72.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ¥2,523

$2,500 A$3,598

-84.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,966

$1,709 A$2,460

-82.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$570 ¥3,808

$4,946 A$7,117

-88.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 ¥2,469

$3,022 A$4,349

-87.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,154 ¥21.1K

$13.2K A$18.9K

-76.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,183 ¥14.6K

$8,370 A$12.0K

-73.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$727 ¥4,859

$4,113 A$5,919

-82.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.84

-34.08%

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

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Haikou

$294 36.5%

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2% 481% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Haikou

$169 * 20.9%

Sydney

$379 12% 125% $210

Eating Out

Haikou

$100 12.4%

Sydney

$299 9.5% 198% $198

Clothing & Footwear

Haikou

$65 8.1%

Sydney

$177 5.6% 172% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Haikou

$62 7.7%

Sydney

$306 9.7% 393% $244

Getting Around

Haikou

$61 7.6%

Sydney

$174 5.5% 183% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Haikou

$55 6.8%

Sydney

$110 3.5% 101% $55

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $377 in Haikou and $2,500 in Sydney. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 466% 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: $15.00 in Haikou vs $91.0 in Sydney for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $169 vs $379 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Haikou

🇦🇺 Sydney

🕒 Local time

00:32 12:32 AM

03:32 3:32 AM

3 h ahead of Haikou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,873,358

4,840,600

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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 →

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Between locations

Haikou Sydney 7,400 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Haikou
Sydney

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

Haikou vs Sydney: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Haikou and Sydney differ by about 291% in total monthly costs ($806 vs $3,152 including rent). Haikou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 466% lower in Sydney. 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: $377 in Haikou versus $2,500 in Sydney. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $806 per month in Haikou versus $3,152 in Sydney – a 291% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Haikou runs roughly 182% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $806 in Haikou versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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, Haikou and Sydney 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 Haikou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 291% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.