Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Tianjin

For one person, living is cheaper in Tianjin: $885 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $23,600 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Tianjin
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Tianjin Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Tianjin

🇨🇳 China

$885

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Tianjin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $885 in Tianjin.

Melbourne $2,852
Tianjin $885

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $1,352 in Tianjin.

Melbourne $4,297
Tianjin $1,352

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $1,820 in Tianjin.

Melbourne $5,742
Tianjin $1,820

Living in Melbourne is roughly 222% more expensive than in Tianjin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Tianjin is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$4.11 ¥27.46

331.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$24.08 ¥161

252.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$6.09 ¥40.69

99.67%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$4.09 ¥27.32

-3.91%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.47 ¥3.12

568.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.28 ¥1.88

767.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$0.93 ¥6.21

964.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$1.76 ¥11.79

371.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.47 ¥9.81

5.44%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$2.24 ¥14.99

34.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$1.66 ¥11.07

73.49%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.31 ¥8.76

315.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$15.11 ¥101

-29.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$3.68 ¥24.57

161.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$9.81 ¥65.5

52.80%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$1.61 ¥10.78

157.76%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.59 ¥10.61

91.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.73 ¥11.55

90.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$1.18 ¥7.87

303.39%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$0.90 ¥6.03

237.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$1.18 ¥7.87

116.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.67 ¥4.49

270.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.69 ¥4.64

136.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$5.23 ¥34.98

742.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$13.58 ¥90.8

-8.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.01 ¥6.75

427.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$2.52 ¥16.81

104.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.29 ¥1.93

1224.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$8.97 ¥59.9

1477.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$1.62 ¥10.84

171.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.36 ¥2.40

288.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$6.22 ¥41.56

379.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.24 ¥8.26

17.74%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$19.5K ¥130.0K

44.67%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$17.6K ¥117.5K

47.53%

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

$233 A$333

$92.9 ¥621

150.32%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$6.36 ¥42.51

328.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$7.34 ¥49.08

677.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$16.57 ¥111

217.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$10.50 ¥70.2

115.43%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$7.57 ¥50.6

125.89%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$638 ¥4,262

272.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$54.5 ¥364

43.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$29.27 ¥196

72.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$110 ¥735

9.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$140 ¥938

-5.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$337 ¥2,254

407.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$246 ¥1,641

470.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$641 ¥4,284

420.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$454 ¥3,032

457.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$5,339 ¥35.7K

31.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$2,335 ¥15.6K

189.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$1,164 ¥7,776

263.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.54

66.67%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Tianjin: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Tianjin

$246 27.8% 82.5% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Tianjin

$226 25.5% 41.4% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Tianjin

$107 12.1% 66.4% $210

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Tianjin

$111 12.6% 64.5% $203

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Tianjin

$150 17% 12.6% $22

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Tianjin

$14 1.5% 92% $155

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Tianjin

$32 3.6% 63.5% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $337 in Tianjin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 263% 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 $24.00 in Tianjin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $226 per month, with Tianjin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Tianjin

🕒 Local time

22:17 10:17 PM

19:17 7:17 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

13,866,009

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 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 Tianjin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Tianjin differ by about 222% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $885 including rent). Tianjin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 263% 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 $337 in Tianjin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $638 in Tianjin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $885 in Tianjin versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tianjin but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Tianjin 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 Tianjin 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 Tianjin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 222% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.