Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Shaoxing

For one person, living is cheaper in Shaoxing: $750 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,900 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Shaoxing
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Shaoxing Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Shaoxing

🇨🇳 China

$750

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Shaoxing

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $750 in Shaoxing.

Melbourne $2,821
Shaoxing $750

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,202 in Shaoxing.

Melbourne $4,235
Shaoxing $1,202

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,655 in Shaoxing.

Melbourne $5,650
Shaoxing $1,655

Living in Melbourne is roughly 276% more expensive than in Shaoxing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Shaoxing is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.64 ¥24.31

378.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$22.73 ¥152

271.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.38 ¥35.97

131.60%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.56 ¥17.11

60.55%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.57 ¥3.84

436.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.36 ¥2.38

600.00%

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

$2.19 ¥14.62

291.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.77 ¥11.84

-16.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$2.03 ¥13.55

44.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.79 ¥5.26

236.71%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.67 ¥11.16

231.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$11.66 ¥78.0

-9.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.24 ¥21.66

197.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$10.25 ¥68.6

48.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.72 ¥11.52

131.98%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.65 ¥11.06

83.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.64 ¥10.97

89.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.05 ¥7.02

359.05%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.82 ¥5.45

269.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.89 ¥5.95

174.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.61 ¥4.11

303.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.60 ¥3.99

171.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.39 ¥22.67

1200.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$10.42 ¥69.7

21.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.75 ¥4.98

638.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.60 ¥10.67

226.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.21 ¥1.40

1680.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$19.93 ¥133

590.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.90 ¥12.68

137.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.43 ¥2.87

216.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$8.87 ¥59.3

243.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.35 ¥9.01

8.89%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.5K ¥130.1K

49.01%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$18.9K ¥126.3K

40.13%

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

$234 A$336

$46.75 ¥313

399.85%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$7.90 ¥52.8

253.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$9.08 ¥60.7

513.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$15.75 ¥105

213.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$6.91 ¥46.21

210.85%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$6.87 ¥45.92

119.65%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$834 ¥5,574

184.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$24.8K ¥165.6K

21.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$39.20 ¥262

104.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$30.88 ¥206

64.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$76.5 ¥511

57.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$108 ¥721

20.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$428 ¥2,861

311.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$226 ¥1,512

514.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$609 ¥4,069

474.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$456 ¥3,047

447.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$6,275 ¥42.0K

10.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$3,564 ¥23.8K

80.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$898 ¥6,005

388.03%

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 10, 2026

Last update for Shaoxing: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Shaoxing

$226 30.2% 83.7% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Shaoxing

$202 26.9% 47.5% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Shaoxing

$64 8.5% 79.9% $254

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Shaoxing

$90 11.9% 71.5% $225

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Shaoxing

$114 15.3% 33.3% $57

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Shaoxing

$25 3.3% 84.9% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Shaoxing

$29 3.9% 63% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $428 in Shaoxing. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 388% 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 $23.00 in Shaoxing for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $202 per month, with Shaoxing cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Shaoxing

🕒 Local time

17:25 5:25 PM

14:25 2:25 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

4,912,239

💱 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 Shaoxing 7,960 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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 Shaoxing: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Shaoxing differ by about 276% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $750 including rent). Shaoxing is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 388% 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 $428 in Shaoxing. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $834 in Shaoxing. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 90% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $750 in Shaoxing versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shaoxing but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Shaoxing 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 Shaoxing 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 Shaoxing gentler on the wallet – expenses run 276% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.