Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Puning

For one person, living is cheaper in Puning: $715 a month against $2,853 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Puning
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Puning Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Puning

🇨🇳 China

$715

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Puning

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $715 in Puning.

Melbourne $2,853
Puning $715

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,127 in Puning.

Melbourne $4,275
Puning $1,127

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $1,539 in Puning.

Melbourne $5,697
Puning $1,539

Living in Melbourne is roughly 299% more expensive than in Puning, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Puning is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$2.82 ¥18.89

509.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$21.21 ¥142

291.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$4.76 ¥31.82

161.13%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$2.99 ¥19.97

35.45%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$0.43 ¥2.87

625.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.29 ¥1.95

748.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$0.92 ¥6.16

934.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$2.05 ¥13.68

298.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.78 ¥11.92

-12.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$1.55 ¥10.39

87.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.90 ¥6.01

195.56%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$1.53 ¥10.20

250.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$12.69 ¥84.9

-15.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$3.27 ¥21.88

201.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$10.26 ¥68.6

49.71%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$1.81 ¥12.07

130.39%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$1.26 ¥8.43

150.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$1.54 ¥10.28

111.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$1.10 ¥7.33

332.73%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$0.71 ¥4.74

330.99%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$0.89 ¥5.97

177.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$0.57 ¥3.79

329.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.55 ¥3.70

196.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$3.17 ¥21.21

1324.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$10.75 ¥71.9

17.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$0.80 ¥5.38

611.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$1.67 ¥11.16

213.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$0.27 ¥1.80

1333.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$16.43 ¥110

764.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$1.40 ¥9.39

224.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$0.33 ¥2.18

330.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$6.66 ¥44.55

359.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.13 ¥7.54

30.09%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$19.4K ¥129.6K

48.90%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$17.3K ¥115.7K

49.81%

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

$235 A$338

$44.25 ¥296

431.32%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$9.64 ¥64.5

184.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$11.50 ¥76.9

388.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$42.38 ¥283

18.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

$13.80 ¥92.3

55.72%

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$5.86 ¥39.20

203.07%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$337 ¥2,257

606.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$16.6K ¥110.9K

78.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$43.71 ¥292

81.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$30.58 ¥204

61.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$72.4 ¥484

63.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$70.5 ¥471

87.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$274 ¥1,830

544.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$195 ¥1,302

624.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$600 ¥4,011

487.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$354 ¥2,365

614.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$2,990 ¥20.0K

138.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$2,066 ¥13.8K

207.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

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 17, 2026

Last update for Puning: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Puning

$195 27.2% 86.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Puning

$198 27.7% 49% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Puning

$65 9.2% 79.5% $253

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Puning

$84 11.8% 72.8% $225

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Puning

$98 13.7% 42.7% $73

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Puning

$21 2.9% 87.9% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Puning

$54 7.6% 36.8% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,763 in Melbourne and $274 in Puning. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $21.00 in Puning for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $198 per month, with Puning cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Puning

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

05:17 5:17 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

2,508,900

💱 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 →

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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 Puning: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Puning differ by about 299% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $715 including rent). Puning is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,280 in Melbourne and $1,072 in Puning to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,763 in Melbourne versus $274 in Puning. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,385 in Melbourne versus $337 in Puning. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 96% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $715 in Puning versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Puning but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Puning 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 Puning 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 Puning gentler on the wallet – expenses run 299% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.