Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Wenzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Wenzhou: $628 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,300 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Wenzhou
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Wenzhou Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Wenzhou

🇨🇳 China

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Wenzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $628 in Wenzhou.

Melbourne $2,821
Wenzhou $628

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,059 in Wenzhou.

Melbourne $4,235
Wenzhou $1,059

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,489 in Wenzhou.

Melbourne $5,650
Wenzhou $1,489

Living in Melbourne is roughly 349% more expensive than in Wenzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Wenzhou is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$24.97

$3.01 ¥20.11

479.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$121

$30.38 ¥203

178.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.85

$7.66 ¥51.2

62.66%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.88

$2.65 ¥17.75

55.09%

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

$3.06 A$4.38

$0.52 ¥3.50

488.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.61

$0.30 ¥2.02

740.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.04

$0.86 ¥5.73

1039.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.28

$3.03 ¥20.28

182.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.13

$2.08 ¥13.94

-28.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.22

$1.95 ¥13.01

50.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.80

$1.31 ¥8.78

103.05%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.94

$1.98 ¥13.22

179.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.06

$7.61 ¥50.9

38.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.82

$2.18 ¥14.61

342.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.81

$9.49 ¥63.5

60.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.72

$1.90 ¥12.74

110.00%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.32

$1.79 ¥11.95

68.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.44

$1.69 ¥11.32

83.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.90

$1.12 ¥7.46

330.36%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.34

$0.61 ¥4.09

396.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.50

$0.72 ¥4.81

238.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.53

$0.47 ¥3.12

423.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.59 ¥3.95

176.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.37 ¥22.57

1207.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.20

$13.24 ¥88.5

-4.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.93

$1.22 ¥8.16

354.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.49

$1.23 ¥8.21

325.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.36

$0.29 ¥1.91

1189.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$197

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.47

$1.68 ¥11.26

168.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.95

$0.35 ¥2.35

288.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.62

$7.75 ¥51.8

292.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.26 ¥8.46

16.67%

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

$29.0K A$41.5K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

48.70%

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

$26.5K A$37.9K

$15.5K ¥103.9K

70.32%

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

$234 A$335

$29.91 ¥200

681.28%

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

$27.93 A$40.01

$6.60 ¥44.12

323.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$79.9

$8.89 ¥59.4

527.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$70.8

$13.62 ¥91.1

262.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.77

$26.79 ¥179

-19.82%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.62

$7.60 ¥50.8

98.55%

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

$2,371 A$3,397

$1,247 ¥8,342

90.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.3K

$9,703 ¥64.9K

211.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$43.55 ¥291

83.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$72.6

$18.78 ¥126

169.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$96.5 ¥645

24.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$187

$44.71 ¥299

191.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,520

$240 ¥1,603

633.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$1,991

$170 ¥1,135

718.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,005

$632 ¥4,229

452.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,572

$363 ¥2,428

586.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,922

$4,065 ¥27.2K

70.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,233

$2,598 ¥17.4K

148.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,279

$868 ¥5,804

405.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.46

70.52%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Wenzhou: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Wenzhou

$170 27% 87.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Wenzhou

$196 31.1% 49.1% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Wenzhou

$45 7.2% 85.7% $272

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Wenzhou

$93 14.7% 70.6% $222

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Wenzhou

$92 14.6% 46.7% $80

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Wenzhou

$4.6 * 0.7% 97.2% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Wenzhou

$29 4.6% 63.8% $51

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $240 in Wenzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 405% 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 $30.00 in Wenzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $196 per month, with Wenzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Wenzhou

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

15:15 3:15 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

9,300,000

💱 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

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Between locations

Melbourne Wenzhou 7,740 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Wenzhou

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 Wenzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Wenzhou differ by about 349% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $628 including rent). Wenzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 405% 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 $240 in Wenzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 96% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $628 in Wenzhou – a 349% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in Wenzhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Wenzhou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Wenzhou 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 Wenzhou 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 Wenzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 349% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.