Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Ningbo

For one person, living is cheaper in Ningbo: $682 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,700 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Ningbo
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Ningbo Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Ningbo

🇨🇳 China

$682

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Ningbo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $682 in Ningbo.

Melbourne $2,821
Ningbo $682

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,177 in Ningbo.

Melbourne $4,235
Ningbo $1,177

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,672 in Ningbo.

Melbourne $5,650
Ningbo $1,672

Living in Melbourne is roughly 313% more expensive than in Ningbo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Ningbo is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.91 ¥19.46

498.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$29.60 ¥198

185.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.58 ¥30.62

172.05%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.43 ¥22.93

19.83%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.47 ¥3.16

551.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.29 ¥1.92

768.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.04 ¥6.93

842.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.45 ¥23.04

148.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.78 ¥11.88

-16.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.16 ¥7.78

153.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.73 ¥4.86

264.38%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.62 ¥10.86

241.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$14.79 ¥98.9

-28.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.81 ¥25.45

153.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$8.83 ¥59.1

72.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.07 ¥7.18

272.90%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.52 ¥10.16

98.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.50 ¥10.06

106.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.18 ¥7.88

308.47%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.63 ¥4.21

380.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.75 ¥4.99

225.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.64 ¥4.27

284.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.54 ¥3.59

201.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$4.39 ¥29.33

903.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.00 ¥53.5

58.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.75 ¥5.04

638.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.42 ¥9.51

268.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.29 ¥1.93

1189.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$16.16 ¥108

750.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.76 ¥11.78

156.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.37 ¥2.49

267.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$7.37 ¥49.29

313.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.28 ¥8.54

14.84%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.6K ¥131.4K

47.61%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.7K ¥118.0K

49.96%

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

$234 A$336

$51.9 ¥347

350.16%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$6.85 ¥45.78

307.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$7.93 ¥53.0

602.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$25.07 ¥168

97.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$14.69 ¥98.2

46.22%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$7.71 ¥51.6

95.72%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$929 ¥6,209

155.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$15.8K ¥105.8K

90.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$62.5 ¥418

27.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$27.09 ¥181

87.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$62.0 ¥414

94.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$52.4 ¥350

148.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$358 ¥2,392

391.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$179 ¥1,198

675.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$772 ¥5,162

352.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$482 ¥3,223

417.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,861 ¥25.8K

79.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$2,097 ¥14.0K

207.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,180 ¥7,892

271.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.18

85.53%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Ningbo: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Ningbo

$179 26.3% 87.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Ningbo

$190 27.9% 50.5% $194

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Ningbo

$67 9.8% 79% $251

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Ningbo

$93 13.7% 70.3% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Ningbo

$92 13.5% 46.6% $80

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Ningbo

$21 3.1% 87.2% $143

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Ningbo

$41 5.9% 49.1% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $358 in Ningbo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 271% 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 $30.00 in Ningbo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $190 per month, with Ningbo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Ningbo

🕒 Local time

22:31 10:31 PM

19:31 7:31 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

7,605,689

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Ningbo 7,910 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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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 Ningbo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Ningbo differ by about 313% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $682 including rent). Ningbo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 271% 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 $358 in Ningbo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $929 in Ningbo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 102% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $682 in Ningbo versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ningbo but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Ningbo 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 Ningbo 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 Ningbo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 313% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.