Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Zhenjiang

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhenjiang: $699 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,500 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Zhenjiang
Learn more

Zhenjiang Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Zhenjiang

🇨🇳 China

$699

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Zhenjiang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $699 in Zhenjiang.

Melbourne $2,821
Zhenjiang $699

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,189 in Zhenjiang.

Melbourne $4,235
Zhenjiang $1,189

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,678 in Zhenjiang.

Melbourne $5,650
Zhenjiang $1,678

Living in Melbourne is roughly 303% more expensive than in Zhenjiang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Zhenjiang is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.18

$3.05 ¥20.41

471.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$30.22 ¥202

179.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$18.00

$4.41 ¥29.43

182.54%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.94

$2.64 ¥17.66

55.68%

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

$3.06 A$4.42

$0.61 ¥4.09

401.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.64

$0.35 ¥2.37

620.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.16

$1.23 ¥8.22

696.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.38

$2.18 ¥14.56

293.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.15

$1.77 ¥11.86

-16.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.25

$1.45 ¥9.71

102.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.84

$0.93 ¥6.20

186.02%

Eggs

$5.54 A$8.01

$1.66 ¥11.10

233.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.19

$14.39 ¥96.1

-26.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.94

$3.07 ¥20.53

214.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$22.00

$12.91 ¥86.2

17.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.77

$1.81 ¥12.08

120.44%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.36

$1.72 ¥11.50

75.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.48

$1.75 ¥11.71

77.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.96

$1.69 ¥11.28

185.21%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.38

$0.81 ¥5.41

274.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.53

$0.99 ¥6.59

146.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.56

$0.47 ¥3.14

423.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.35

$0.58 ¥3.89

181.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.7

$3.70 ¥24.74

1091.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.36

$10.68 ¥71.3

18.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$8.00

$0.88 ¥5.88

529.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.55

$1.62 ¥10.86

222.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.40

$0.15 ¥0.98

2393.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$199

$7.49 ¥50.0

1736.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.52

$1.47 ¥9.83

206.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.47 ¥3.13

189.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$44.00

$4.38 ¥29.27

595.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.13

$1.21 ¥8.11

21.49%

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

$29.0K A$41.9K

$17.8K ¥118.9K

62.96%

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

$26.5K A$38.3K

$17.9K ¥119.6K

47.89%

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

$234 A$338

$57.4 ¥383

307.32%

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

$27.93 A$40.35

$8.18 ¥54.7

241.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.6

$7.65 ¥51.1

628.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.4

$45.06 ¥301

9.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$31.04

$30.32 ¥203

-29.16%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.81

$9.05 ¥60.5

66.74%

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

$2,371 A$3,426

$440 ¥2,939

439.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.6K

$28.1K ¥187.5K

7.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$116

$44.54 ¥298

79.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.3

$30.24 ¥202

67.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$68.2 ¥456

76.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$83.7 ¥559

55.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,542

$228 ¥1,526

670.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,008

$148 ¥990

837.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,048

$515 ¥3,440

578.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,603

$368 ¥2,461

576.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$10.0K

$2,037 ¥13.6K

240.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,313

$914 ¥6,104

605.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,333

$970 ¥6,483

351.69%

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 Zhenjiang: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Zhenjiang

$148 21.2% 89.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Zhenjiang

$217 31% 43.5% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Zhenjiang

$73 10.5% 76.9% $244

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Zhenjiang

$84 12% 73.4% $231

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Zhenjiang

$102 14.6% 40.6% $70

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Zhenjiang

$12 1.7% 92.7% $152

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Zhenjiang

$63 9% 20.6% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $228 in Zhenjiang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 352% 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 Zhenjiang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $217 per month, with Zhenjiang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Zhenjiang

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

19:05 7:05 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

3,210,418

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.692 USD

1 AUD = 0.617 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 16, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.692 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.617 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Zhenjiang 8,220 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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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 Zhenjiang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Zhenjiang differ by about 303% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $699 including rent). Zhenjiang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 352% 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 $228 in Zhenjiang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $440 in Zhenjiang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $699 in Zhenjiang versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Zhenjiang but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Zhenjiang 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 Zhenjiang 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 Zhenjiang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 303% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.