Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and China

Name: China
Address: CN

For one person, living is cheaper in China: $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
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in China
Learn more

China Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

🇨🇳 China

$784

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Melbourne is 142.7% more expensive than China without rent, and 263.9% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Melbourne is 143.2% more expensive than China without rent, and 227.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$2.90 ¥19.39

512.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$22.02 ¥147

285.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$5.20 ¥34.74

133.85%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$3.04 ¥20.31

29.28%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.52 ¥3.45

503.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.28 ¥1.85

767.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$1.01 ¥6.75

880.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$2.19 ¥14.64

278.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.75 ¥11.71

-11.43%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.64 ¥10.96

83.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$0.92 ¥6.12

213.04%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.59 ¥10.66

242.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$12.99 ¥86.8

-18.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$3.35 ¥22.38

186.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$11.18 ¥74.7

34.08%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$1.80 ¥12.02

130.56%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.31 ¥8.78

132.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.47 ¥9.80

124.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$1.32 ¥8.79

260.61%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$0.76 ¥5.07

300.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$0.92 ¥6.15

177.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.59 ¥3.94

320.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.54 ¥3.63

201.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.79 ¥25.34

1062.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$12.14 ¥81.1

2.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$0.82 ¥5.48

550.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$1.63 ¥10.92

216.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.29 ¥1.93

1224.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$22.33 ¥149

533.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$1.53 ¥10.24

187.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.35 ¥2.31

300.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$7.00 ¥46.79

326.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.31 ¥8.77

11.45%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$19.0K ¥127.1K

47.97%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$17.0K ¥113.7K

52.48%

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

$233 A$333

$54.1 ¥362

329.80%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$8.42 ¥56.3

223.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$10.72 ¥71.6

432.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$40.72 ¥272

29.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$14.58 ¥97.4

55.14%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$6.76 ¥45.15

152.96%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$462 ¥3,089

413.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$19.6K ¥131.0K

55.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$45.57 ¥305

71.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$36.05 ¥241

40.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$75.4 ¥504

59.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$79.0 ¥528

68.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$386 ¥2,577

344.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$240 ¥1,601

485.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$843 ¥5,637

295.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$461 ¥3,083

448.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$4,590 ¥30.7K

52.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$2,279 ¥15.2K

196.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$1,060 ¥7,082

299.05%

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 China: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

China

$240 30.1% 82.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

China

$207 26.1% 46.2% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

China

$73 9.2% 76.9% $244

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

China

$88 11.1% 72% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

China

$106 13.4% 38.3% $66

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

China

$27 3.4% 84.1% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

China

$54 6.8% 37.6% $33

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 China

🕒 Local time

21:24 9:24 PM

18:24 6:24 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,442,965,000

💱 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 China 9,120 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
China

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.

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