Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Zhengzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhengzhou: $683 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,700 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Zhengzhou
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Zhengzhou Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Zhengzhou

🇨🇳 China

$683

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Zhengzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $683 in Zhengzhou.

Melbourne $2,821
Zhengzhou $683

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,088 in Zhengzhou.

Melbourne $4,235
Zhengzhou $1,088

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,492 in Zhengzhou.

Melbourne $5,650
Zhengzhou $1,492

Living in Melbourne is roughly 313% more expensive than in Zhengzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Zhengzhou is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.17 ¥14.54

703.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$16.72 ¥112

405.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.57 ¥30.54

172.65%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.41 ¥16.13

70.54%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.57 ¥3.80

436.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.28 ¥1.88

800.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$0.88 ¥5.90

1013.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.66 ¥11.07

416.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.74 ¥11.60

-14.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.71 ¥11.42

71.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.89 ¥5.92

198.88%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.98 ¥6.58

465.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$8.26 ¥55.2

27.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.16 ¥21.15

205.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$10.52 ¥70.3

44.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.49 ¥9.97

167.79%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.04 ¥6.93

190.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.07 ¥7.15

189.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.17 ¥7.81

311.97%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.67 ¥4.48

352.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.73 ¥4.91

234.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.67 ¥4.50

267.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.71 ¥4.77

129.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.31 ¥22.15

1231.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$14.74 ¥98.6

-13.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.94 ¥6.32

489.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.10 ¥14.02

149.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.13 ¥0.90

2776.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$14.89 ¥99.6

823.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.46 ¥9.75

208.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.31 ¥2.10

338.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$3.54 ¥23.67

760.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.27 ¥8.52

15.75%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.2K ¥128.6K

50.78%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.4K ¥116.6K

51.83%

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

$234 A$336

$70.2 ¥469

232.97%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$7.19 ¥48.08

288.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$10.50 ¥70.2

430.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$40.79 ¥273

21.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$13.58 ¥90.8

58.17%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$6.01 ¥40.17

151.08%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$391 ¥2,614

506.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$30.2K ¥202.0K

-0.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$43.52 ¥291

83.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$33.43 ¥224

51.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$73.6 ¥492

63.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$70.1 ¥469

85.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$215 ¥1,436

718.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$162 ¥1,085

756.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$574 ¥3,839

508.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$370 ¥2,473

574.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,825 ¥18.9K

145.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,515 ¥10.1K

325.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$918 ¥6,137

377.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.29

79.33%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Zhengzhou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Zhengzhou

$162 23.8% 88.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Zhengzhou

$191 28% 50.3% $193

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Zhengzhou

$88 12.9% 72.3% $229

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Zhengzhou

$71 10.4% 77.4% $243

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Zhengzhou

$99 14.5% 42.2% $72

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Zhengzhou

$18 2.7% 88.7% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Zhengzhou

$53 7.7% 33.6% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $215 in Zhengzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 378% 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 $17.00 in Zhengzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $191 per month, with Zhengzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Zhengzhou

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

23:18 11:18 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

12,600,574

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Zhengzhou 8,690 km ≈ 11 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 Zhengzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Zhengzhou differ by about 313% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $683 including rent). Zhengzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 378% 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 $215 in Zhengzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $391 in Zhengzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 101% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $683 in Zhengzhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Zhengzhou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Zhengzhou 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 Zhengzhou 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 Zhengzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 313% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.