Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Panjin

For one person, living is cheaper in Panjin: $692 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,500 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Panjin
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Panjin Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Panjin

🇨🇳 China

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Panjin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $692 in Panjin.

Melbourne $2,821
Panjin $692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,079 in Panjin.

Melbourne $4,235
Panjin $1,079

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,466 in Panjin.

Melbourne $5,650
Panjin $1,466

Living in Melbourne is roughly 308% more expensive than in Panjin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$24.86

$2.98 ¥19.90

484.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$121

$14.99 ¥100

464.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.77

$3.65 ¥24.40

241.37%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.86

$2.45 ¥16.40

67.76%

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

$3.06 A$4.36

$0.35 ¥2.35

774.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.59

$0.35 ¥2.36

620.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$13.98

$0.86 ¥5.75

1039.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.23

$1.84 ¥12.30

365.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.12

$1.53 ¥10.21

-3.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.20

$2.39 ¥15.98

23.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.79

$0.62 ¥4.17

329.03%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.90

$0.87 ¥5.81

536.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.00

$11.34 ¥75.8

-7.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.77

$1.50 ¥10.03

543.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.72

$14.76 ¥98.6

3.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.70

$1.47 ¥9.79

171.43%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.31

$1.22 ¥8.14

147.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.43

$1.63 ¥10.90

90.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.87

$1.47 ¥9.84

227.89%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.32

$0.57 ¥3.83

431.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.49

$0.88 ¥5.86

177.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.51

$0.43 ¥2.86

472.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.32

$0.64 ¥4.26

154.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$62.9

$3.71 ¥24.80

1087.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.12

$16.74 ¥112

-24.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.90

$0.47 ¥3.12

1078.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.46

$1.10 ¥7.36

375.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.33

$0.29 ¥1.91

1189.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$196

$15.75 ¥105

773.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.44

$0.93 ¥6.19

384.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.94

$0.29 ¥1.91

368.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.44

$3.01 ¥20.08

911.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.10

$1.18 ¥7.91

24.58%

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

$29.0K A$41.4K

$19.7K ¥131.8K

46.97%

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

$26.5K A$37.8K

$14.8K ¥99.1K

78.43%

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

$234 A$333

$45.36 ¥303

415.17%

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

$27.93 A$39.84

$4.61 ¥30.82

505.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$79.5

$7.55 ¥50.5

638.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$70.5

$42.21 ¥282

17.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.64

$14.91 ¥99.6

44.06%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.53

$5.97 ¥39.86

152.76%

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

$2,371 A$3,383

$296 ¥1,980

700.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.1K

$21.6K ¥144.6K

39.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$114

$44.54 ¥298

79.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$72.3

$33.98 ¥227

49.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$60.9 ¥407

98.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$186

$69.4 ¥463

88.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,509

$329 ¥2,199

434.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$1,982

$181 ¥1,211

666.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$4,984

$581 ¥3,885

500.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,557

$331 ¥2,209

654.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,881

$3,032 ¥20.3K

128.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,194

$2,074 ¥13.9K

210.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,252

$604 ¥4,035

625.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.9

51.28%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Panjin: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Panjin

$181 26.2% 87% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Panjin

$210 30.4% 45.2% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Panjin

$58 8.3% 81.9% $260

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Panjin

$75 10.9% 76.1% $239

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Panjin

$94 13.6% 45.3% $78

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Panjin

$19 2.8% 88.2% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Panjin

$54 7.8% 32% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $329 in Panjin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 626% 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 Panjin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $210 per month, with Panjin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Panjin

🕒 Local time

16:04 4:04 PM

13:04 1:04 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,389,691

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.626 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.626 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Panjin 9,090 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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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 Panjin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Panjin differ by about 308% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $692 including rent). Panjin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 626% 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 $329 in Panjin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $296 in Panjin. 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 $692 in Panjin versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Panjin but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Panjin 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 Panjin 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 Panjin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 308% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.