Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Zhanjiang

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhanjiang: $716 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Zhanjiang
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Zhanjiang Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Zhanjiang

🇨🇳 China

$716

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Zhanjiang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $716 in Zhanjiang.

Melbourne $2,821
Zhanjiang $716

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,136 in Zhanjiang.

Melbourne $4,235
Zhanjiang $1,136

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,556 in Zhanjiang.

Melbourne $5,650
Zhanjiang $1,556

Living in Melbourne is roughly 294% more expensive than in Zhanjiang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.59 ¥17.33

572.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$19.75 ¥132

328.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.20 ¥34.77

139.62%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.82 ¥18.83

45.74%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.51 ¥3.42

500.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.34 ¥2.29

641.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.21 ¥8.11

709.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.96 ¥13.13

337.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.82 ¥12.15

-18.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.76 ¥11.75

67.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.83 ¥5.54

220.48%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.62 ¥10.85

241.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$15.01 ¥100

-29.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.19 ¥21.30

202.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$9.84 ¥65.8

54.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.85 ¥12.36

115.68%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.28 ¥8.59

135.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.55 ¥10.37

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.27 ¥8.47

279.53%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.73 ¥4.88

315.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.83 ¥5.55

193.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.57 ¥3.83

331.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.58 ¥3.87

181.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.58 ¥23.93

1131.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$10.68 ¥71.4

18.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.97 ¥6.48

471.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.79 ¥11.95

192.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.27 ¥1.79

1285.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$16.11 ¥108

753.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.65 ¥11.00

173.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.31 ¥2.08

338.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$6.12 ¥40.91

397.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.09 ¥7.32

34.86%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$17.8K ¥118.7K

63.38%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$15.7K ¥104.8K

68.98%

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

$234 A$336

$56.1 ¥375

316.25%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$9.19 ¥61.5

203.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$12.15 ¥81.3

358.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$40.07 ¥268

23.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$13.31 ¥89.0

61.38%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$5.99 ¥40.05

151.92%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$373 ¥2,493

535.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$16.4K ¥109.5K

84.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$46.39 ¥310

72.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$34.55 ¥231

46.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$70.3 ¥470

71.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$74.8 ¥500

74.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$310 ¥2,073

467.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$173 ¥1,154

705.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$577 ¥3,858

505.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$343 ¥2,295

626.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,337 ¥22.3K

107.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,866 ¥12.5K

245.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

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 Zhanjiang: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Zhanjiang

$173 24.1% 87.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Zhanjiang

$208 29.1% 45.7% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Zhanjiang

$77 10.8% 75.6% $240

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Zhanjiang

$84 11.7% 73.4% $231

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Zhanjiang

$102 14.2% 40.8% $70

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Zhanjiang

$20 2.9% 87.6% $143

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Zhanjiang

$52 7.3% 34.6% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $310 in Zhanjiang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $20.00 in Zhanjiang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $208 per month, with Zhanjiang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Zhanjiang

🕒 Local time

20:01 8:01 PM

17:01 5:01 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,612,000

💱 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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Between locations

Melbourne Zhanjiang 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Zhanjiang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Zhanjiang differ by about 294% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $716 including rent). Zhanjiang 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 $1,074 in Zhanjiang 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 $310 in Zhanjiang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $373 in Zhanjiang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 84% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $716 in Zhanjiang versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Zhanjiang but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Zhanjiang 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 Zhanjiang 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 Zhanjiang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 294% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.