Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Haikou

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $806 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Haikou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $806 in Haikou.

Melbourne $2,821
Haikou $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,152 in Haikou.

Melbourne $4,235
Haikou $1,152

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,497 in Haikou.

Melbourne $5,650
Haikou $1,497

Living in Melbourne is roughly 250% more expensive than in Haikou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Haikou is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.40 ¥29.45

296.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$14.72 ¥98.4

474.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$6.02 ¥40.26

106.98%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.43 ¥16.25

69.14%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.86 ¥5.74

255.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.34 ¥2.27

641.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.51 ¥10.06

549.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.72 ¥18.18

215.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$2.13 ¥14.26

-30.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.48 ¥9.90

98.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.66 ¥4.40

303.03%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.36 ¥9.07

307.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.92 ¥26.23

146.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$15.42 ¥103

-1.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.69 ¥11.30

136.09%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$0.87 ¥5.80

247.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.11 ¥7.40

179.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$0.93 ¥6.24

418.28%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.89 ¥5.95

240.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.73 ¥4.85

234.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.47 ¥3.12

423.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.57 ¥3.83

185.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.09 ¥20.68

1326.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.76 ¥58.6

44.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.57 ¥3.84

871.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.23 ¥8.23

325.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.92 ¥6.17

306.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$53.3 ¥356

158.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$2.19 ¥14.66

105.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.43 ¥2.86

216.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.22 ¥8.15

20.49%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

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

$234 A$336

$35.41 ¥237

559.93%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$13.21 ¥88.3

111.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$13.38 ¥89.4

316.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$45.67 ¥305

8.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$6.33 ¥42.35

239.34%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$4.50 ¥30.10

235.33%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$862 ¥5,762

175.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

54.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$27.00 ¥181

196.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$34.89 ¥233

45.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$44.76 ¥299

169.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$37.57 ¥251

247.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$377 ¥2,523

366.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$294 ¥1,966

372.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$570 ¥3,808

513.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$369 ¥2,469

575.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,154 ¥21.1K

119.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$2,183 ¥14.6K

195.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$727 ¥4,859

503.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.85

53.25%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Haikou

$294 36.5% 78.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Haikou

$169 * 20.9% 56.1% $215

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Haikou

$62 7.7% 80.5% $255

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Haikou

$100 12.4% 68.1% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Haikou

$65 8.1% 62.2% $107

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Haikou

$61 7.6% 62.6% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Haikou

$55 6.8% 31.3% $25

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $377 in Haikou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 503% 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 $15.00 in Haikou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $169 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Haikou

🕒 Local time

05:00 5:00 AM

02:00 2:00 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

2,873,358

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Haikou 7,390 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Haikou

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 Haikou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Haikou differ by about 250% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $806 including rent). Haikou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 503% 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: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $377 in Haikou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $806 in Haikou – a 250% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Haikou runs roughly 158% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $806 in Haikou versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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 Haikou 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 Haikou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 250% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.