Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,250 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Shanghai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $1,250 in Shanghai.

Melbourne $2,852
Shanghai $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $2,019 in Shanghai.

Melbourne $4,297
Shanghai $2,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $2,789 in Shanghai.

Melbourne $5,742
Shanghai $2,789

Living in Melbourne is roughly 128% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Shanghai is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.49

$4.55 ¥30.45

290.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$122

$29.52 ¥198

187.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.46

$5.10 ¥34.13

138.43%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.64

$3.42 ¥22.92

14.91%

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

$3.14 A$4.51

$0.61 ¥4.12

414.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.49

$0.36 ¥2.41

575.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.22

$1.21 ¥8.08

718.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.91

$2.29 ¥15.33

262.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.22

$1.86 ¥12.48

-16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.32

$2.01 ¥13.47

49.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.14

$1.02 ¥6.84

182.35%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.82

$1.72 ¥11.48

216.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.22

$17.19 ¥115

-38.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.81

$3.35 ¥22.43

186.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.54

$12.80 ¥85.7

17.11%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.96

$2.17 ¥14.54

91.24%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.38

$1.74 ¥11.67

75.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.74

$1.94 ¥12.99

70.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.83

$1.68 ¥11.25

183.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.77 ¥5.18

294.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.66

$0.93 ¥6.22

174.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.56

$0.62 ¥4.17

300.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.58 ¥3.88

181.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.3

$3.83 ¥25.64

1050.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.85

$10.94 ¥73.2

13.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.65

$0.84 ¥5.60

534.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.41

$1.60 ¥10.73

222.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.52

$0.59 ¥3.92

550.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$30.27 ¥203

367.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.32

$2.06 ¥13.79

113.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.47 ¥3.13

197.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.84

$8.80 ¥58.9

238.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.27 ¥8.53

14.96%

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

$28.1K A$40.4K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

43.63%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$18.6K ¥124.4K

39.65%

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

$233 A$334

$57.2 ¥383

306.52%

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

$27.28 A$39.19

$8.06 ¥53.9

238.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.9

$10.52 ¥70.4

442.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.7

$64.6 ¥433

-18.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.49

$17.63 ¥118

28.30%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.57

$8.84 ¥59.1

93.44%

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

$2,373 A$3,409

$1,437 ¥9,620

65.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.8K

$28.1K ¥187.9K

8.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$54.7 ¥366

43.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.5

$36.43 ¥244

38.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$75.4 ¥504

59.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$104 ¥696

28.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,460

$1,039 ¥6,956

64.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,014

$589 ¥3,940

138.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,796

$2,487 ¥16.6K

34.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,632

$1,237 ¥8,282

104.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.1K

$13.6K ¥90.9K

-48.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,721

$6,191 ¥41.4K

9.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,074

$1,715 ¥11.5K

146.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.36

75.60%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 58% $813

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Shanghai

$237 19% 38.5% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 76.1% $241

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 65.8% $207

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 29.3% $50

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Shanghai

$37 3% 78% $131

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 5.3% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 147% 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 Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $237 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

12:04 12:04 PM

09:04 9:04 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

1 CNY = 0.149 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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From you

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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 Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Shanghai differ by about 128% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $1,250 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 147% 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: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $1,437 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,250 in Shanghai versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Shanghai 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 Shanghai 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 Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 128% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.