Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Chenzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Chenzhou: $721 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,500 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 Chenzhou
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Chenzhou Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Chenzhou

🇨🇳 China

$721

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Chenzhou

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

A single person spends $2,849 per month in Melbourne vs $721 in Chenzhou, rent included.

Melbourne $2,849
Chenzhou $721

A couple spends around $4,274 per month in Melbourne vs $1,197 in Chenzhou, rent included.

Melbourne $4,274
Chenzhou $1,197

A family of three spends $5,699 per month in Melbourne vs $1,674 in Chenzhou, rent included.

Melbourne $5,699
Chenzhou $1,674

Melbourne costs about 295% more than Chenzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Melbourne sits 109% above the global median, while Chenzhou is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.88

$3.03 ¥20.18

477.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$22.13 ¥148

280.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.30

$4.86 ¥32.38

150.41%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$1.54 ¥10.26

164.29%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$0.51 ¥3.42

523.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$0.27 ¥1.81

825.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.61

$1.29 ¥8.59

641.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.73

$1.89 ¥12.61

336.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.97 ¥13.11

-23.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$2.38 ¥15.85

24.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.82

$0.79 ¥5.24

239.24%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.76

$1.72 ¥11.48

216.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.23

$13.15 ¥87.6

-18.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.29

$4.13 ¥27.51

143.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.33

$11.57 ¥77.1

29.65%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.79

$0.59 ¥3.93

589.83%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$1.18 ¥7.84

166.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$0.73 ¥4.88

327.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.73

$1.19 ¥7.91

297.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.24

$0.97 ¥6.50

207.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$1.54 ¥10.26

61.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$0.61 ¥4.05

306.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$0.49 ¥3.24

226.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.5

$3.02 ¥20.11

1378.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.03

$12.71 ¥84.7

-0.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.89

$1.04 ¥6.92

433.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$1.57 ¥10.47

229.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.46

$0.31 ¥2.05

1138.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$15.40 ¥103

800.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.20

$1.52 ¥10.11

186.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$0.29 ¥1.93

372.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.26

$4.60 ¥30.64

546.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$1.29 ¥8.60

15.50%

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

$29.1K A$41.4K

$19.3K ¥128.6K

50.82%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$17.4K ¥115.8K

47.72%

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

$236 A$335

$56.3 ¥375

318.43%

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

$28.01 A$39.83

$8.94 ¥59.6

213.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.4

$11.27 ¥75.1

407.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$42.59 ¥284

13.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.52

$14.67 ¥97.8

46.28%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.12

$6.48 ¥43.20

172.69%

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

$2,461 A$3,499

$329 ¥2,192

648.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$16.9K ¥112.5K

75.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$84.2 ¥562

-3.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.1

$35.01 ¥233

40.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$89.1 ¥594

34.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$58.9 ¥392

122.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,421

$310 ¥2,064

449.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,003

$163 ¥1,087

763.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,971

$584 ¥3,892

498.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,593

$414 ¥2,757

510.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$3,531 ¥23.5K

125.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,812

$1,917 ¥12.8K

259.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,053

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 26, 2026

Last update for Chenzhou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Chenzhou

$163 22.6% 88.4% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Chenzhou

$215 29.8% 44.3% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Chenzhou

$77 10.6% 76.2% $244

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Chenzhou

$71 9.8% 77.4% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Chenzhou

$120 16.7% 29.9% $51

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Chenzhou

$20 2.7% 88.1% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Chenzhou

$56 7.7% 33.6% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,703 in Melbourne versus $310 in Chenzhou. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $84 in Melbourne versus $22 in Chenzhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $386 vs $215 – making Chenzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Chenzhou

🕒 Local time

01:38 1:38 AM

22:38 10:38 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

4,667,134

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Chenzhou 7,820 km ≈ 10 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 Chenzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne, $721 in Chenzhou – roughly 295% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,273 per month in Melbourne and $1,081 in Chenzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chenzhou, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $310 there versus $1,703 in Melbourne.

Public transport costs about 89% less in Chenzhou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,461 per month in Melbourne and $329 in Chenzhou. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Chenzhou, where all-in costs run around $721, than in Melbourne at $2,849. In Chenzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Melbourne it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

For expats, Chenzhou is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 295% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.