Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Changsha

For one person, living is cheaper in Changsha: $784 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Changsha
Learn more

Changsha Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Changsha

🇨🇳 China

$784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Changsha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $784 in Changsha.

Melbourne $2,852
Changsha $784

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $1,263 in Changsha.

Melbourne $4,297
Changsha $1,263

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

Melbourne $5,742
Changsha $1,742

Living in Melbourne is roughly 264% more expensive than in Changsha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Changsha is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$2.96 ¥19.80

499.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$22.08 ¥148

284.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$4.99 ¥33.35

143.69%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$3.43 ¥22.94

14.58%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.47 ¥3.12

568.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.25 ¥1.66

872.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$1.25 ¥8.36

692.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$1.97 ¥13.15

320.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.96 ¥13.09

-20.92%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$2.36 ¥15.76

27.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$0.94 ¥6.29

206.38%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.73 ¥11.56

214.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$12.84 ¥85.8

-17.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$3.91 ¥26.13

145.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$11.63 ¥77.7

28.89%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$2.92 ¥19.52

42.12%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.44 ¥9.60

111.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.90 ¥12.73

73.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$1.94 ¥12.96

145.36%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$1.01 ¥6.76

200.99%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$1.57 ¥10.51

62.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.65 ¥4.33

281.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.48 ¥3.18

239.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.03 ¥20.22

1354.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$12.43 ¥83.0

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.07 ¥7.16

398.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$1.54 ¥10.29

235.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.36 ¥2.38

966.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$14.89 ¥99.5

850.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$1.47 ¥9.84

199.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.29 ¥1.92

382.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$4.52 ¥30.22

559.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.29 ¥8.60

13.18%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$19.5K ¥130.2K

44.52%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$17.4K ¥116.2K

49.22%

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

$233 A$333

$56.9 ¥380

309.23%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$8.83 ¥59.0

208.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$13.56 ¥90.6

320.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$55.0 ¥367

-4.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$24.39 ¥163

-7.26%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$6.44 ¥43.01

165.53%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$325 ¥2,169

631.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$16.8K ¥112.2K

81.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$81.8 ¥546

-4.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$34.27 ¥229

47.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$87.2 ¥583

38.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$59.0 ¥395

125.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$265 ¥1,770

546.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$168 ¥1,122

734.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$569 ¥3,804

486.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$383 ¥2,561

559.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$2,477 ¥16.6K

183.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$1,393 ¥9,308

385.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$1,097 ¥7,331

285.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.46

70.52%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Changsha: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Changsha

$168 21.5% 88% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Changsha

$235 30.1% 39% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Changsha

$79 10.2% 75% $238

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Changsha

$93 11.9% 70.4% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Changsha

$118 15.1% 31.4% $54

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Changsha

$19 2.5% 88.6% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Changsha

$68 8.7% 21.9% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $265 in Changsha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 285% 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 $22.00 in Changsha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $235 per month, with Changsha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Changsha

🕒 Local time

23:05 11:05 PM

20:05 8:05 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

5,289,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Changsha 8,070 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Changsha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Changsha differ by about 264% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $784 including rent). Changsha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 285% 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: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $265 in Changsha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Changsha – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,852 per month in Melbourne versus $784 in Changsha – a 264% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $784 in Changsha versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Changsha but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Changsha 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 Changsha 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 Changsha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 264% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.