Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Bengbu

For one person, living is cheaper in Bengbu: $666 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Bengbu
Learn more

Bengbu Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Bengbu

🇨🇳 China

$666

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Bengbu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $666 in Bengbu.

Melbourne $2,821
Bengbu $666

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,043 in Bengbu.

Melbourne $4,235
Bengbu $1,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,420 in Bengbu.

Melbourne $5,650
Bengbu $1,420

Living in Melbourne is roughly 324% more expensive than in Bengbu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Bengbu is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$24.97

$2.31 ¥15.42

654.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$121

$10.50 ¥70.2

705.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.85

$4.76 ¥31.81

161.76%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.88

$3.15 ¥21.09

30.48%

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

$3.06 A$4.38

$0.47 ¥3.16

551.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.61

$0.25 ¥1.66

908.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.04

$1.45 ¥9.67

575.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.28

$2.21 ¥14.75

287.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.13

$2.18 ¥14.57

-32.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.22

$1.02 ¥6.82

188.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.80

$0.72 ¥4.85

269.44%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.94

$1.32 ¥8.83

319.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.06

$10.42 ¥69.7

0.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.82

$3.04 ¥20.30

217.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.81

$9.00 ¥60.2

69.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.72

$1.50 ¥10.03

166.00%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.32

$1.07 ¥7.13

182.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.44

$1.52 ¥10.16

103.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.90

$0.78 ¥5.22

517.95%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.34

$0.62 ¥4.16

388.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.50

$0.63 ¥4.20

287.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.53

$0.76 ¥5.09

223.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.43 ¥2.90

279.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$2.93 ¥19.57

1404.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.20

$6.10 ¥40.82

108.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.93

$0.76 ¥5.11

628.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.49

$1.47 ¥9.86

255.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.36

$0.31 ¥2.09

1106.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$197

$20.48 ¥137

571.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.47

$1.61 ¥10.76

180.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.95

$0.38 ¥2.57

257.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.62

$9.15 ¥61.2

232.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.29 ¥8.66

13.95%

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

$29.0K A$41.5K

$19.2K ¥128.4K

51.03%

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

$26.5K A$37.9K

$16.6K ¥111.3K

59.12%

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

$234 A$335

$36.70 ¥245

536.73%

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

$27.93 A$40.01

$5.39 ¥36.02

418.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$79.9

$7.07 ¥47.25

688.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$70.8

$41.28 ¥276

19.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.77

$16.25 ¥109

32.18%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.62

$5.99 ¥40.08

151.92%

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

$2,371 A$3,397

$417 ¥2,789

468.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.3K

$22.1K ¥148.0K

36.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$43.41 ¥290

84.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$72.6

$33.77 ¥226

50.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$66.1 ¥442

82.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$187

$88.5 ¥592

47.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,520

$294 ¥1,969

497.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$1,991

$181 ¥1,209

668.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,005

$586 ¥3,921

495.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,572

$349 ¥2,335

614.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,922

$3,507 ¥23.5K

97.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,233

$2,194 ¥14.7K

193.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,279

$668 ¥4,469

555.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.42

72.51%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bengbu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Bengbu

$181 27.2% 87% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Bengbu

$168 25.2% 56.3% $216

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Bengbu

$49 7.4% 84.5% $268

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Bengbu

$85 12.8% 73% $229

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Bengbu

$104 15.7% 39.3% $67

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Bengbu

$25 3.8% 84.6% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Bengbu

$53 8% 33.1% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $294 in Bengbu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 556% 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: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $11.00 in Bengbu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $168 per month, with Bengbu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Bengbu

🕒 Local time

16:45 4:45 PM

13:45 1:45 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

3,296,408

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.698 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.698 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melbourne Bengbu 8,370 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Bengbu

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

Melbourne vs Bengbu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bengbu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 324% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 556% higher in Melbourne, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $294 in Bengbu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $417 in Bengbu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 129% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $666 in Bengbu versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bengbu but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Bengbu 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, Melbourne and Bengbu 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 Bengbu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 324% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.