Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Dalian

For one person, living is cheaper in Dalian: $895 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $23,500 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Dalian
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Dalian Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Dalian

🇨🇳 China

$895

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Dalian

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $895 in Dalian.

Melbourne $2,852
Dalian $895

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $1,433 in Dalian.

Melbourne $4,297
Dalian $1,433

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $1,970 in Dalian.

Melbourne $5,742
Dalian $1,970

Living in Melbourne is roughly 219% more expensive than in Dalian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Dalian is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$3.63 ¥24.25

388.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$24.88 ¥166

240.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$5.12 ¥34.24

137.50%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$3.30 ¥22.04

19.09%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.49 ¥3.30

540.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.25 ¥1.67

872.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$0.92 ¥6.17

976.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$1.53 ¥10.23

441.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.59 ¥10.63

-2.52%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.42 ¥9.52

111.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$1.02 ¥6.80

182.35%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.59 ¥10.61

242.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$20.36 ¥136

-47.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$3.46 ¥23.10

177.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$13.05 ¥87.2

14.87%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$1.31 ¥8.74

216.79%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.13 ¥7.52

169.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.93 ¥12.90

70.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$0.89 ¥5.96

434.83%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$0.82 ¥5.50

270.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$0.71 ¥4.77

259.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$1.35 ¥9.00

83.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.62 ¥4.16

162.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.75 ¥25.08

1075.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$14.55 ¥97.2

-14.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.10 ¥7.32

384.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$1.93 ¥12.92

167.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.31 ¥2.10

1138.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$30.05 ¥201

370.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$1.53 ¥10.23

187.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.43 ¥2.87

225.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$3.98 ¥26.60

649.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.26 ¥8.43

15.87%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$19.6K ¥130.8K

43.84%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$17.5K ¥117.0K

48.22%

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

$233 A$333

$63.8 ¥426

264.94%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$9.13 ¥61.0

198.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$13.34 ¥89.1

327.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$40.35 ¥270

30.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$36.04 ¥241

-37.24%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$6.85 ¥45.75

149.64%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$393 ¥2,627

503.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$20.6K ¥137.9K

47.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$75.4 ¥504

3.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$54.9 ¥367

-8.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$114 ¥762

5.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$117 ¥784

13.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$402 ¥2,684

326.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$244 ¥1,628

475.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$702 ¥4,688

375.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$445 ¥2,971

468.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$2,684 ¥17.9K

161.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$1,585 ¥10.6K

327.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$1,090 ¥7,287

287.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.89

51.67%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Dalian: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Dalian

$244 26.6% 82.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Dalian

$239 26.1% 38% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Dalian

$86 9.4% 72.8% $231

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Dalian

$95 10.3% 69.9% $219

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Dalian

$163 17.8% 5.4% $9.3

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Dalian

$35 3.8% 79.2% $133

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Dalian

$54 5.9% 37.8% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $402 in Dalian. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 288% 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 $25.00 in Dalian for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $239 per month, with Dalian cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Dalian

🕒 Local time

18:00 6:00 PM

15:00 3:00 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

7,450,785

💱 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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Melbourne Dalian 8,860 km ≈ 12 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 Dalian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Dalian differ by about 219% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $895 including rent). Dalian is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 288% 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 $402 in Dalian. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $393 in Dalian. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $895 in Dalian versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Dalian but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Dalian 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 Dalian 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 Dalian gentler on the wallet – expenses run 219% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.