Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Yiwu

For one person, living is cheaper in Yiwu: $550 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $27,300 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Yiwu
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Yiwu Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Yiwu

🇨🇳 China

$550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Yiwu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $550 in Yiwu.

Melbourne $2,821
Yiwu $550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,286 in Yiwu.

Melbourne $4,235
Yiwu $1,286

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,022 in Yiwu.

Melbourne $5,650
Yiwu $2,022

Living in Melbourne is roughly 413% more expensive than in Yiwu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Yiwu is 59% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$24.97

$2.92 ¥19.54

496.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$121

$29.38 ¥196

187.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.85

$5.13 ¥34.31

142.88%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.88

$3.29 ¥22.01

24.92%

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

$3.06 A$4.38

$0.62 ¥4.15

393.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.61

$0.38 ¥2.55

563.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.04

$1.22 ¥8.19

703.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.28

$2.28 ¥15.22

275.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.13

$1.85 ¥12.40

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.22

$1.96 ¥13.09

50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.80

$0.98 ¥6.58

171.43%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.94

$1.68 ¥11.26

229.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.06

$17.54 ¥117

-40.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.82

$3.35 ¥22.38

188.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.81

$13.14 ¥87.9

15.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.72

$2.14 ¥14.29

86.45%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.32

$1.75 ¥11.68

72.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.44

$1.95 ¥13.05

58.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.90

$1.66 ¥11.08

190.36%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.34

$0.82 ¥5.51

269.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.50

$0.94 ¥6.28

159.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.53

$0.62 ¥4.17

296.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.59 ¥3.96

176.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.75 ¥25.10

1075.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.20

$10.78 ¥72.1

17.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.93

$0.83 ¥5.56

567.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.49

$1.60 ¥10.67

226.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.36

$0.43 ¥2.90

769.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$197

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.47

$1.30 ¥8.73

246.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.95

$0.43 ¥2.89

216.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.62

$8.89 ¥59.4

242.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.27 ¥8.49

15.75%

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

$29.0K A$41.5K

$19.6K ¥130.9K

48.22%

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

$26.5K A$37.9K

$18.6K ¥124.3K

42.45%

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

$234 A$335

$57.4 ¥384

306.97%

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

$27.93 A$40.01

$8.10 ¥54.2

244.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$79.9

$10.41 ¥69.6

435.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$70.8

$14.73 ¥98.5

235.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.77

$11.34 ¥75.8

89.42%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.62

$7.22 ¥48.25

109.00%

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

$2,371 A$3,397

$1,430 ¥9,566

65.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.3K

$27.3K ¥182.5K

10.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$53.9 ¥361

48.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$72.6

$37.73 ¥252

34.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$76.8 ¥514

57.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$187

$73.5 ¥491

77.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,520

$446 ¥2,985

294.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$1,991

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,005

$1,053 ¥7,041

231.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,572

$733 ¥4,901

240.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,922

$11.8K ¥78.7K

-41.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,233

$2,921 ¥19.5K

120.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,279

$748 ¥5,000

486.26%

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 Yiwu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Yiwu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Yiwu

$238 43.2% 38.1% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Yiwu

$76 13.8% 76.1% $241

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Yiwu

$93 16.9% 70.4% $222

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Yiwu

$109 19.8% 36.6% $63

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Yiwu

$5.2 * 1% 96.8% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Yiwu

$29 5.3% 63.4% $50

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 $446 in Yiwu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 486% 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 $29.00 in Yiwu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $238 per month, with Yiwu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Yiwu

🕒 Local time

19:02 7:02 PM

16:02 4:02 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,234,015

💱 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 →

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Melbourne Yiwu 7,900 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 Yiwu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Yiwu differ by about 413% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $550 including rent). Yiwu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 486% 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 $446 in Yiwu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% 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 $550 in Yiwu – a 413% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $550 in Yiwu versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yiwu but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Yiwu 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 Yiwu 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 Yiwu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 413% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.