Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Suzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Suzhou: $876 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $23,700 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Suzhou
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Suzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Suzhou

🇨🇳 China

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Suzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $876 in Suzhou.

Melbourne $2,852
Suzhou $876

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $1,504 in Suzhou.

Melbourne $4,297
Suzhou $1,504

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $2,132 in Suzhou.

Melbourne $5,742
Suzhou $2,132

Living in Melbourne is roughly 226% more expensive than in Suzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Suzhou is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$4.26 ¥28.48

316.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$29.42 ¥197

188.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$5.29 ¥35.36

129.87%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$3.38 ¥22.58

16.27%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.73 ¥4.86

330.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.39 ¥2.59

523.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$2.25 ¥15.05

340.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$4.60 ¥30.71

80.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.89 ¥12.61

-17.99%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$2.04 ¥13.63

47.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$1.29 ¥8.63

123.26%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.82 ¥12.19

198.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$17.80 ¥119

-40.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$3.50 ¥23.36

174.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$8.57 ¥57.3

74.91%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$2.03 ¥13.58

104.43%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.28 ¥8.54

138.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.39 ¥9.27

137.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$1.50 ¥10.03

217.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$0.63 ¥4.21

382.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$1.17 ¥7.79

117.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.83 ¥5.56

198.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.55 ¥3.69

196.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$4.56 ¥30.50

866.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$9.01 ¥60.2

37.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.06 ¥7.11

402.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$2.06 ¥13.77

150.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.39 ¥2.59

884.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$43.93 ¥294

222.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$1.73 ¥11.59

154.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.36 ¥2.38

288.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$10.20 ¥68.2

192.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.28 ¥8.58

14.06%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$19.6K ¥131.3K

43.25%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$17.7K ¥118.6K

46.19%

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

$233 A$333

$99.4 ¥664

134.05%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$12.81 ¥85.6

112.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$11.12 ¥74.4

412.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$33.16 ¥222

58.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$18.47 ¥123

22.47%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$5.85 ¥39.09

192.31%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$1,213 ¥8,105

95.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$21.4K ¥143.0K

42.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$52.4 ¥350

49.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$41.14 ¥275

22.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$83.3 ¥557

44.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$86.6 ¥578

53.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$457 ¥3,057

274.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$193 ¥1,292

625.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$1,033 ¥6,902

223.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$594 ¥3,971

325.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$5,329 ¥35.6K

31.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$2,773 ¥18.5K

144.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$1,381 ¥9,231

206.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.53

67.14%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Suzhou: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Suzhou

$193 22.3% 86.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Suzhou

$221 25.5% 42.7% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Suzhou

$123 14.3% 61.1% $194

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Suzhou

$115 13.3% 63.2% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Suzhou

$119 13.7% 31.1% $54

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Suzhou

$49 5.7% 70.9% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Suzhou

$45 5.2% 48.4% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $457 in Suzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 206% 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 $29.00 in Suzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $221 per month, with Suzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Suzhou

🕒 Local time

15:47 3:47 PM

12:47 12:47 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

12,748,262

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Suzhou 8,090 km ≈ 11 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 Suzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Suzhou differ by about 226% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $876 including rent). Suzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 206% 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 $457 in Suzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $1,213 in Suzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 74% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $876 in Suzhou versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Suzhou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Suzhou 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 Suzhou 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 Suzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 226% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.