Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Lanzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Lanzhou: $719 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,200 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Lanzhou
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Lanzhou Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Lanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$719

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Lanzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $719 in Lanzhou.

Melbourne $2,821
Lanzhou $719

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,143 in Lanzhou.

Melbourne $4,235
Lanzhou $1,143

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,567 in Lanzhou.

Melbourne $5,650
Lanzhou $1,567

Living in Melbourne is roughly 292% more expensive than in Lanzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Lanzhou is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.06 ¥13.80

746.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$28.34 ¥189

198.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.86 ¥39.15

112.63%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.12 ¥20.89

31.73%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.48 ¥3.19

537.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.29 ¥1.93

768.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.10 ¥7.35

790.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.02 ¥13.54

324.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.77 ¥11.81

-16.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.61 ¥10.75

82.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.96 ¥6.40

177.08%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.60 ¥10.72

246.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$13.22 ¥88.4

-20.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.43 ¥22.92

181.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$12.11 ¥81.0

25.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.81 ¥12.09

120.44%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.28 ¥8.56

135.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.49 ¥9.97

108.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.24 ¥8.32

288.71%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.70 ¥4.70

332.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.93 ¥6.21

162.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.60 ¥3.99

310.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.55 ¥3.70

196.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.77 ¥25.19

1068.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$11.52 ¥77.0

10.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.83 ¥5.52

567.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.53 ¥10.25

241.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.29 ¥1.92

1189.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$18.07 ¥121

661.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.48 ¥9.91

204.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.32 ¥2.17

325.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$7.12 ¥47.58

327.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.46 ¥9.73

0.68%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$17.5K ¥117.2K

65.42%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$15.0K ¥100.4K

76.39%

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

$234 A$336

$58.0 ¥388

302.83%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$8.79 ¥58.8

217.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$11.18 ¥74.8

398.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$42.33 ¥283

16.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$14.69 ¥98.2

46.22%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$6.29 ¥42.06

139.90%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$412 ¥2,756

475.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$17.6K ¥117.6K

71.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$42.85 ¥287

86.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$33.44 ¥224

51.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$75.6 ¥505

59.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$74.1 ¥495

76.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$295 ¥1,971

496.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$168 ¥1,126

724.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$626 ¥4,186

457.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$297 ¥1,986

739.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,671 ¥17.9K

159.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,611 ¥10.8K

299.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$953 ¥6,375

359.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

96.67%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lanzhou: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Lanzhou

$168 23.4% 87.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Lanzhou

$209 29.1% 45.5% $175

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Lanzhou

$78 10.9% 75.4% $239

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Lanzhou

$84 11.7% 73.2% $230

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Lanzhou

$102 14.2% 40.8% $70

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Lanzhou

$22 3.1% 86.4% $141

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Lanzhou

$55 7.6% 31% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $295 in Lanzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 360% 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 $28.00 in Lanzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $209 per month, with Lanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Lanzhou

🕒 Local time

19:28 7:28 PM

16:28 4:28 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

3,688,400

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Lanzhou 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Lanzhou

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 Lanzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lanzhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 292% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 360% 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 $295 in Lanzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $412 in Lanzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 83% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $719 in Lanzhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Lanzhou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Lanzhou 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 Lanzhou 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 Lanzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 292% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.