Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Chuzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Chuzhou: $685 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,000 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Chuzhou
Learn more

Chuzhou Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Chuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Chuzhou

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

A single person spends $2,849 per month in Melbourne vs $685 in Chuzhou, rent included.

Melbourne $2,849
Chuzhou $685

A couple spends around $4,274 per month in Melbourne vs $1,120 in Chuzhou, rent included.

Melbourne $4,274
Chuzhou $1,120

A family of three spends $5,699 per month in Melbourne vs $1,555 in Chuzhou, rent included.

Melbourne $5,699
Chuzhou $1,555

Melbourne costs about 316% more than Chuzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Melbourne sits 109% above the global median, while Chuzhou is 50% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.86

$2.28 ¥15.15

667.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$22.28 ¥148

278.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.29

$4.76 ¥31.65

155.67%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$2.30 ¥15.31

76.96%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$0.53 ¥3.54

500.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$0.27 ¥1.80

825.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.60

$0.44 ¥2.90

2075.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.72

$1.54 ¥10.23

435.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.54 ¥10.28

-2.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$2.07 ¥13.75

43.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.81

$0.84 ¥5.57

219.05%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.75

$1.32 ¥8.80

312.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.22

$10.57 ¥70.3

1.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.28

$3.03 ¥20.15

231.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.31

$9.07 ¥60.4

65.38%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.78

$2.09 ¥13.88

94.74%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$1.26 ¥8.36

149.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$1.71 ¥11.39

82.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.72

$1.07 ¥7.15

342.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.23

$0.90 ¥5.96

231.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$0.97 ¥6.47

156.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$0.89 ¥5.92

178.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$0.52 ¥3.46

207.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.4

$3.83 ¥25.51

1065.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.02

$13.28 ¥88.4

-4.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.88

$0.95 ¥6.31

484.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$1.55 ¥10.34

234.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.45

$0.31 ¥2.08

1138.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$19.20 ¥128

622.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.19

$1.75 ¥11.66

149.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$0.41 ¥2.75

234.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.23

$9.09 ¥60.5

226.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$1.32 ¥8.77

12.88%

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

$29.1K A$41.3K

$19.3K ¥128.5K

50.62%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$17.4K ¥115.5K

47.93%

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

$236 A$335

$55.5 ¥369

324.54%

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

$28.01 A$39.80

$7.88 ¥52.4

255.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.3

$7.28 ¥48.43

686.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$43.09 ¥287

12.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.50

$16.05 ¥107

33.71%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.10

$6.07 ¥40.41

191.10%

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

$2,461 A$3,497

$441 ¥2,932

458.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$22.8K ¥151.9K

30.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$43.42 ¥289

87.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.0

$34.55 ¥230

42.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$64.8 ¥431

84.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$87.6 ¥583

49.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,419

$253 ¥1,683

573.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,002

$165 ¥1,095

756.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,967

$606 ¥4,032

476.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,590

$376 ¥2,503

571.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$3,018 ¥20.1K

164.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,805

$1,996 ¥13.3K

245.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,049

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.42

72.51%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chuzhou: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Chuzhou

$165 24% 88.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Chuzhou

$198 28.9% 48.8% $189

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Chuzhou

$71 10.3% 78% $250

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Chuzhou

$69 10% 78.1% $244

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Chuzhou

$104 15.1% 39.5% $68

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Chuzhou

$24 3.5% 85.3% $141

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Chuzhou

$55 8.1% 34% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,703 in Melbourne versus $253 in Chuzhou. 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 Chuzhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $386 vs $198 – making Chuzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Chuzhou

🕒 Local time

00:54 12:54 AM

21:54 9:54 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

3,987,054

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 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 = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Chuzhou 8,270 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Chuzhou

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 Chuzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne costs about 316% more than Chuzhou, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,273 per month in Melbourne and $1,027 in Chuzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chuzhou, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $253 there versus $1,703 in Melbourne.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $84 in Melbourne and $22 in Chuzhou. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,849 in Melbourne and $685 in Chuzhou. That’s a gap of about 316%.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Chuzhou, where all-in costs run around $685, than in Melbourne at $2,849. In Chuzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Melbourne it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

For expats, Chuzhou is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 316% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.