Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Tieling

For one person, living is cheaper in Tieling: $732 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,100 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Tieling
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Tieling Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Tieling

🇨🇳 China

$732

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Tieling

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $732 in Tieling.

Melbourne $2,821
Tieling $732

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,195 in Tieling.

Melbourne $4,235
Tieling $1,195

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,658 in Tieling.

Melbourne $5,650
Tieling $1,658

Living in Melbourne is roughly 285% more expensive than in Tieling, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Tieling is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.18

$3.15 ¥21.06

453.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$23.29 ¥156

263.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$18.00

$5.48 ¥36.59

127.37%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.94

$3.06 ¥20.43

34.31%

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

$3.06 A$4.42

$0.52 ¥3.45

488.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.64

$0.30 ¥2.01

740.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.16

$1.12 ¥7.47

775.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.38

$2.31 ¥15.42

271.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.15

$1.85 ¥12.36

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.25

$1.65 ¥11.00

78.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.84

$1.00 ¥6.67

166.00%

Eggs

$5.54 A$8.01

$1.61 ¥10.76

244.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.19

$13.97 ¥93.3

-24.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.94

$3.40 ¥22.70

183.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$22.00

$11.33 ¥75.7

34.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.77

$1.82 ¥12.19

119.23%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.36

$1.32 ¥8.83

128.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.48

$1.52 ¥10.16

103.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.96

$1.30 ¥8.68

270.77%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.38

$0.70 ¥4.67

332.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.53

$0.91 ¥6.09

168.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.56

$0.63 ¥4.19

290.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.35

$0.56 ¥3.73

191.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.7

$3.63 ¥24.25

1114.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.36

$11.69 ¥78.1

8.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$8.00

$0.82 ¥5.51

575.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.55

$1.60 ¥10.68

226.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.40

$0.29 ¥1.93

1189.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$199

$15.73 ¥105

774.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.52

$1.53 ¥10.22

194.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.29 ¥1.94

368.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$44.00

$7.85 ¥52.4

287.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.13

$1.25 ¥8.37

17.60%

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

$29.0K A$41.9K

$19.5K ¥130.1K

48.95%

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

$26.5K A$38.3K

$17.7K ¥118.0K

49.86%

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

$234 A$338

$56.4 ¥377

314.40%

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

$27.93 A$40.35

$8.53 ¥57.0

227.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.6

$11.49 ¥76.8

385.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.4

$37.43 ¥250

31.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$31.04

$14.15 ¥94.6

51.80%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.81

$6.24 ¥41.67

141.83%

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

$2,371 A$3,426

$370 ¥2,472

540.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.6K

$18.0K ¥120.6K

67.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$116

$43.48 ¥291

83.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.3

$34.18 ¥228

48.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$73.7 ¥492

63.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$77.3 ¥517

68.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,542

$304 ¥2,034

477.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,008

$180 ¥1,199

674.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,048

$559 ¥3,732

525.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,603

$405 ¥2,707

515.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$10.0K

$3,439 ¥23.0K

101.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,313

$1,656 ¥11.1K

289.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,333

$677 ¥4,523

547.47%

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 Tieling: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Tieling

$180 24.5% 87.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Tieling

$212 28.9% 44.9% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Tieling

$76 10.4% 75.9% $241

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Tieling

$92 12.5% 70.8% $223

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Tieling

$103 14.1% 40.1% $69

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Tieling

$20 2.7% 87.9% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Tieling

$50 6.8% 37.3% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $304 in Tieling. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 547% 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 Tieling for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $212 per month, with Tieling cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Tieling

🕒 Local time

19:20 7:20 PM

16:20 4:20 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

699,675

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.692 USD

1 AUD = 0.617 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 16, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.692 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.617 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 16, 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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Melbourne Tieling 9,160 km ≈ 12 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 Tieling: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Tieling differ by about 285% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $732 including rent). Tieling is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 547% 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 $304 in Tieling. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $370 in Tieling. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 81% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $732 in Tieling versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tieling but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Tieling 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 Tieling 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 Tieling gentler on the wallet – expenses run 285% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.