Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Yangshuo

For one person, living is cheaper in Yangshuo: $713 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,300 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Yangshuo
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Yangshuo Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Yangshuo

🇨🇳 China

$713

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Yangshuo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $713 in Yangshuo.

Melbourne $2,821
Yangshuo $713

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,130 in Yangshuo.

Melbourne $4,235
Yangshuo $1,130

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,548 in Yangshuo.

Melbourne $5,650
Yangshuo $1,548

Living in Melbourne is roughly 296% more expensive than in Yangshuo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Yangshuo is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.80 ¥18.73

522.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$21.83 ¥146

287.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.91 ¥32.80

153.77%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.06 ¥20.45

34.31%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.47 ¥3.12

551.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.29 ¥1.95

768.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$0.90 ¥5.99

988.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.04 ¥13.62

320.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.82 ¥12.14

-18.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.60 ¥10.68

83.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.95 ¥6.33

180.00%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.54 ¥10.29

259.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$12.67 ¥84.7

-17.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.14 ¥20.99

207.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$10.02 ¥67.0

51.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.87 ¥12.49

113.37%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.20 ¥8.02

151.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.48 ¥9.88

109.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.15 ¥7.70

319.13%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.70 ¥4.67

332.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.91 ¥6.10

168.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.60 ¥4.03

310.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.51 ¥3.41

219.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.04 ¥20.34

1349.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$10.74 ¥71.8

18.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.80 ¥5.38

592.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.65 ¥11.01

216.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.29 ¥1.94

1189.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$16.88 ¥113

714.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.35 ¥9.05

234.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.33 ¥2.18

312.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$6.61 ¥44.22

360.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.18 ¥7.91

24.58%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.3K ¥129.1K

50.18%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.4K ¥116.2K

52.39%

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

$234 A$336

$45.58 ¥305

412.68%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$9.73 ¥65.0

187.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$11.52 ¥77.0

383.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$41.10 ¥275

20.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$13.85 ¥92.6

55.09%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$5.87 ¥39.27

157.07%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$339 ¥2,270

598.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$17.0K ¥113.8K

77.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$44.49 ¥297

79.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$30.94 ¥207

63.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$72.5 ¥485

66.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$71.1 ¥475

83.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$280 ¥1,870

528.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$191 ¥1,274

629.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$581 ¥3,881

501.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$358 ¥2,394

596.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,087 ¥20.6K

124.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,990 ¥13.3K

223.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.89

51.67%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Yangshuo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Yangshuo

$191 26.8% 86.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Yangshuo

$197 27.7% 48.6% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Yangshuo

$67 9.4% 78.9% $251

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Yangshuo

$85 12% 72.8% $229

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Yangshuo

$99 13.8% 42.6% $73

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Yangshuo

$21 3% 87.2% $143

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Yangshuo

$53 7.4% 33.6% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $280 in Yangshuo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $22.00 in Yangshuo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $197 per month, with Yangshuo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Yangshuo

🕒 Local time

19:28 7:28 PM

16:28 4:28 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

300,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Yangshuo 7,840 km ≈ 10 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 Yangshuo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Yangshuo differ by about 296% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $713 including rent). Yangshuo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,231 in Melbourne and $1,069 in Yangshuo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $280 in Yangshuo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $339 in Yangshuo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 95% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $713 in Yangshuo versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Yangshuo but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Yangshuo 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 Yangshuo 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 Yangshuo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 296% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.