Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Chengdu

For one person, living is cheaper in Chengdu: $734 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,400 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Chengdu
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Chengdu Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Chengdu

🇨🇳 China

$734

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Chengdu

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

A single person spends $2,852 per month in Melbourne vs $734 in Chengdu, rent included.

Melbourne $2,852
Chengdu $734

A couple spends around $4,297 per month in Melbourne vs $1,211 in Chengdu, rent included.

Melbourne $4,297
Chengdu $1,211

A family of three spends $5,742 per month in Melbourne vs $1,688 in Chengdu, rent included.

Melbourne $5,742
Chengdu $1,688

Melbourne costs about 288% more than Chengdu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Melbourne sits 113% above the global median, while Chengdu is 45% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$2.86 ¥19.11

520.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$22.31 ¥149

280.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$4.89 ¥32.71

148.67%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$2.99 ¥19.96

31.44%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.51 ¥3.40

515.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.28 ¥1.89

767.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$1.46 ¥9.74

578.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$2.18 ¥14.55

280.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.84 ¥12.28

-15.76%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.55 ¥10.36

94.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$0.98 ¥6.58

193.88%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.57 ¥10.47

246.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$14.17 ¥94.7

-25.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$3.71 ¥24.76

159.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$11.12 ¥74.3

34.80%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$1.87 ¥12.52

121.93%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.31 ¥8.73

132.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.10 ¥7.34

200.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$1.14 ¥7.59

317.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$0.75 ¥5.03

305.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$0.68 ¥4.56

275.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.63 ¥4.19

293.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.55 ¥3.66

196.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.83 ¥25.59

1050.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$4.60 ¥30.71

170.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$0.82 ¥5.45

550.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$1.46 ¥9.77

253.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.44 ¥2.93

772.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$24.70 ¥165

472.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$1.36 ¥9.09

223.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.31 ¥2.09

351.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$4.38 ¥29.26

581.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.30 ¥8.69

12.31%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$19.5K ¥130.6K

44.05%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$17.1K ¥114.1K

52.00%

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

$233 A$333

$47.43 ¥317

390.51%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$9.39 ¥62.8

190.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$12.51 ¥83.6

355.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$27.41 ¥183

92.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$11.30 ¥75.5

100.18%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$6.14 ¥41.05

178.50%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$376 ¥2,516

530.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$14.9K ¥99.8K

103.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$25.02 ¥167

212.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$28.00 ¥187

80.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$57.3 ¥383

110.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$52.7 ¥352

152.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$471 ¥3,145

263.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$257 ¥1,716

445.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$819 ¥5,472

307.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$536 ¥3,580

372.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$3,708 ¥24.8K

89.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$1,928 ¥12.9K

250.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$1,277 ¥8,531

231.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.38

74.56%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Chengdu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Chengdu

$257 34.2% 81.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Chengdu

$195 25.9% 49.5% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Chengdu

$69 9.2% 78.1% $248

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Chengdu

$88 11.7% 71.9% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Chengdu

$73 9.8% 57.4% $99

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Chengdu

$29 3.9% 82.5% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Chengdu

$40 5.3% 54.3% $47

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,713 in Melbourne versus $471 in Chengdu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 231% higher in Melbourne, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Melbourne versus $22.00 in Chengdu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $385 vs $195 – making Chengdu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Chengdu

🕒 Local time

18:01 6:01 PM

15:01 3:01 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

20,937,757

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Chengdu 8,720 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Chengdu

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 Chengdu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne, $734 in Chengdu – roughly 288% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,277 per month in Melbourne and $1,101 in Chengdu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chengdu, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Melbourne and $22.00 in Chengdu. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,852 in Melbourne and $734 in Chengdu. That's a gap of about 288%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Chengdu, where all-in costs run around $734, than in Melbourne at $2,852. In Chengdu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Melbourne it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Chengdu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Chengdu. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Melbourne makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.