Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Zhuhai

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhuhai: $787 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,400 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Zhuhai
Learn more

Zhuhai Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Zhuhai

🇨🇳 China

$787

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Zhuhai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $787 in Zhuhai.

Melbourne $2,821
Zhuhai $787

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,310 in Zhuhai.

Melbourne $4,235
Zhuhai $1,310

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,833 in Zhuhai.

Melbourne $5,650
Zhuhai $1,833

Living in Melbourne is roughly 259% more expensive than in Zhuhai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Zhuhai is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.74 ¥18.31

536.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$29.77 ¥199

184.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.28 ¥35.26

135.98%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.23 ¥21.58

27.24%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.47 ¥3.16

551.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.35 ¥2.36

620.00%

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

$2.17 ¥14.46

294.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.60 ¥10.70

-7.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.29 ¥8.59

127.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.10 ¥7.33

141.82%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.70 ¥11.38

225.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$4.23 ¥28.27

148.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$2.30 ¥15.34

319.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$3.85 ¥25.68

295.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$1.30 ¥8.67

206.92%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$0.59 ¥3.92

411.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$0.47 ¥3.15

559.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.49 ¥9.97

223.49%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$0.76 ¥5.08

298.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$0.46 ¥3.10

430.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.31 ¥2.10

693.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.43 ¥2.90

279.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.95 ¥19.68

1393.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$3.68 ¥24.57

245.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.61 ¥4.09

808.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.82 ¥12.14

187.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.13 ¥0.87

2776.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$9.07 ¥60.6

1416.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$1.48 ¥9.88

204.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.37 ¥2.49

267.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$7.23 ¥48.27

321.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.23 ¥8.23

19.51%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$15.5K ¥103.2K

87.67%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$13.7K ¥91.4K

93.42%

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

$234 A$336

$56.1 ¥375

316.62%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$9.88 ¥66.0

182.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$16.63 ¥111

235.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$81.8 ¥546

-39.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$31.35 ¥209

-31.48%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$7.58 ¥50.6

99.08%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$521 ¥3,480

354.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$23.9K ¥159.4K

26.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$29.35 ¥196

172.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$40.57 ¥271

24.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$71.8 ¥479

68.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$90.3 ¥603

44.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$436 ¥2,909

303.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$280 ¥1,873

395.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$905 ¥6,042

286.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$656 ¥4,377

280.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,597 ¥30.7K

50.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$2,882 ¥19.2K

123.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,045 ¥6,977

319.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.35

76.12%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Zhuhai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Zhuhai

$280 35.7% 79.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Zhuhai

$119 15.1% 69% $265

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Zhuhai

$83 10.5% 74% $235

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Zhuhai

$90 11.5% 71.3% $224

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Zhuhai

$104 13.3% 39.2% $67

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Zhuhai

$13 1.6% 92.1% $151

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Zhuhai

$97 12.3% 21.8% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $436 in Zhuhai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 319% 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 Zhuhai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $119 per month, with Zhuhai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Zhuhai

🕒 Local time

23:27 11:27 PM

20:27 8:27 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

2,207,090

💱 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 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Zhuhai 7,440 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Zhuhai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Zhuhai differ by about 259% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $787 including rent). Zhuhai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 319% 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 $436 in Zhuhai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $521 in Zhuhai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 223% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $787 in Zhuhai versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zhuhai but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Zhuhai 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 Zhuhai 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 Zhuhai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 259% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.