Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Bozhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Bozhou: $678 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Bozhou
Learn more

Bozhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Bozhou

🇨🇳 China

$678

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Bozhou

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 Bozhou actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $678 in Bozhou.

Melbourne $2,821
Bozhou $678

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,083 in Bozhou.

Melbourne $4,235
Bozhou $1,083

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,487 in Bozhou.

Melbourne $5,650
Bozhou $1,487

Living in Melbourne is roughly 316% more expensive than in Bozhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Bozhou is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$1.51 ¥10.12

1054.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$22.71 ¥152

272.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.37 ¥29.23

185.13%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.68 ¥17.89

53.36%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.39 ¥2.60

684.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.27 ¥1.79

833.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.02 ¥6.85

860.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.84 ¥12.31

365.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.23 ¥8.20

20.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$2.06 ¥13.78

42.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.44 ¥2.93

504.55%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.92 ¥6.16

502.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$14.11 ¥94.3

-25.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$2.18 ¥14.60

342.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$10.63 ¥71.1

43.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.21 ¥8.12

229.75%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.06 ¥7.09

184.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$0.74 ¥4.95

318.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$0.73 ¥4.87

560.27%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.46 ¥3.09

558.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.59 ¥3.94

313.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.58 ¥3.87

324.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.62 ¥4.16

162.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.04 ¥20.30

1349.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$11.81 ¥79.0

7.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.94 ¥6.28

489.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.21 ¥8.11

332.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.31 ¥2.08

1106.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$17.25 ¥115

697.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.04 ¥6.93

333.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.33 ¥2.19

312.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$3.52 ¥23.53

765.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.10 ¥7.35

33.64%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

47.84%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$16.7K ¥111.5K

58.73%

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

$234 A$336

$48.90 ¥327

377.87%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$4.26 ¥28.47

555.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$7.26 ¥48.54

667.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$39.29 ¥263

25.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$14.76 ¥98.7

45.53%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$3.70 ¥24.72

307.84%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$244 ¥1,631

871.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$8,547 ¥57.1K

253.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$45.42 ¥304

76.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$32.95 ¥220

53.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$64.5 ¥431

86.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$74.9 ¥501

74.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$309 ¥2,064

469.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$197 ¥1,320

603.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$551 ¥3,681

534.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$387 ¥2,590

543.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,746 ¥25.0K

84.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,918 ¥12.8K

235.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$748 ¥4,999

486.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.15

87.30%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bozhou: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Bozhou

$197 29.1% 85.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Bozhou

$186 27.4% 51.7% $198

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Bozhou

$60 8.9% 81% $257

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Bozhou

$69 10.1% 78.1% $246

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Bozhou

$98 14.5% 42.9% $74

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Bozhou

$21 3.1% 87.1% $143

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Bozhou

$47 6.9% 41.3% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $309 in Bozhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 486% 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 $23.00 in Bozhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $186 per month, with Bozhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Bozhou

🕒 Local time

20:04 8:04 PM

17:04 5:04 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,537,231

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Bozhou 8,520 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Bozhou

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 Bozhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bozhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 316% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 486% 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 $309 in Bozhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bozhou – 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 $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $678 in Bozhou – a 316% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $678 in Bozhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bozhou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Bozhou 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 Bozhou 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 Bozhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 316% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.