Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Weihai

For one person, living is cheaper in Weihai: $625 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Weihai
Learn more

Weihai Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Weihai

🇨🇳 China

$625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Weihai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $625 in Weihai.

Melbourne $2,821
Weihai $625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $949 in Weihai.

Melbourne $4,235
Weihai $949

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,273 in Weihai.

Melbourne $5,650
Weihai $1,273

Living in Melbourne is roughly 352% more expensive than in Weihai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Weihai is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$24.97

$2.64 ¥17.69

560.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$121

$16.28 ¥109

419.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.85

$4.60 ¥30.79

170.87%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.88

$2.77 ¥18.55

48.38%

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

$3.06 A$4.38

$0.50 ¥3.35

512.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.61

$0.30 ¥2.00

740.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.04

$1.10 ¥7.37

790.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.28

$2.54 ¥16.97

237.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.13

$1.30 ¥8.71

13.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.22

$1.41 ¥9.43

108.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.80

$0.98 ¥6.57

171.43%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.94

$0.94 ¥6.26

489.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.06

$10.45 ¥69.9

0.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.82

$3.79 ¥25.34

154.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.81

$9.99 ¥66.8

52.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.72

$1.03 ¥6.87

287.38%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.32

$0.81 ¥5.39

272.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.44

$1.52 ¥10.15

103.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.90

$1.26 ¥8.41

282.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.34

$0.46 ¥3.09

558.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.50

$0.43 ¥2.90

467.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.53

$0.72 ¥4.82

241.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.65 ¥4.34

150.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.93 ¥26.25

1021.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.20

$7.37 ¥49.28

72.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.93

$0.43 ¥2.86

1188.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.49

$1.55 ¥10.39

237.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.36

$0.23 ¥1.54

1526.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$197

$13.50 ¥90.3

918.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.47

$1.22 ¥8.18

269.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.95

$0.27 ¥1.81

403.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.62

$7.49 ¥50.1

306.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.20 ¥8.05

22.50%

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

$29.0K A$41.5K

$19.6K ¥130.9K

48.16%

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

$26.5K A$37.9K

$16.5K ¥110.6K

60.15%

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

$234 A$335

$45.07 ¥301

418.48%

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

$27.93 A$40.01

$6.89 ¥46.11

305.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$79.9

$7.53 ¥50.4

640.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$70.8

$55.4 ¥370

-10.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.77

$9.03 ¥60.4

137.87%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.62

$4.96 ¥33.15

204.23%

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

$2,371 A$3,397

$302 ¥2,016

686.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.3K

$17.6K ¥118.0K

71.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$51.3 ¥343

56.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$72.6

$29.56 ¥198

71.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$74.5 ¥498

61.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$187

$45.69 ¥306

185.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,520

$196 ¥1,313

796.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$1,991

$140 ¥937

891.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,005

$326 ¥2,181

971.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,572

$196 ¥1,308

1175.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,922

$1,796 ¥12.0K

285.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,233

$1,122 ¥7,500

474.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,279

$617 ¥4,123

610.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.37

75.07%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Weihai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Weihai

$140 22.4% 89.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Weihai

$170 27.3% 55.7% $214

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Weihai

$59 9.5% 81.3% $258

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Weihai

$82 13.1% 73.9% $232

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Weihai

$90 14.5% 47.3% $81

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Weihai

$17 2.7% 89.6% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Weihai

$65 10.5% 18% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $196 in Weihai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 611% 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 $16.00 in Weihai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $170 per month, with Weihai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Weihai

🕒 Local time

19:01 7:01 PM

16:01 4:01 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

2,804,800

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.698 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.698 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melbourne Weihai 8,700 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Weihai

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 Weihai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Weihai differ by about 352% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $625 including rent). Weihai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 611% 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 $196 in Weihai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $302 in Weihai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 125% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $625 in Weihai versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Weihai but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Weihai 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 Weihai 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 Weihai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 352% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.