Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Zunyi

For one person, living is cheaper in Zunyi: $708 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Zunyi
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Zunyi Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Zunyi

🇨🇳 China

$708

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Zunyi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $708 in Zunyi.

Melbourne $2,852
Zunyi $708

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $1,132 in Zunyi.

Melbourne $4,297
Zunyi $1,132

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $1,556 in Zunyi.

Melbourne $5,742
Zunyi $1,556

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Zunyi is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.51

$2.85 ¥19.08

522.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$122

$21.67 ¥145

291.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.47

$4.79 ¥32.01

153.86%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.64

$3.09 ¥20.63

27.18%

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

$3.14 A$4.51

$0.44 ¥2.92

613.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.49

$0.29 ¥1.95

737.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.23

$0.95 ¥6.36

942.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.91

$2.11 ¥14.10

292.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.22

$1.85 ¥12.37

-16.22%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.32

$1.62 ¥10.84

85.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.14

$0.97 ¥6.45

196.91%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.82

$1.52 ¥10.19

257.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.23

$13.05 ¥87.2

-18.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.81

$3.14 ¥20.97

206.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.55

$10.34 ¥69.1

44.97%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.97

$1.81 ¥12.09

129.28%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.39

$1.21 ¥8.06

152.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.74

$1.55 ¥10.37

112.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.84

$1.14 ¥7.65

317.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.75 ¥5.04

305.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.67

$0.91 ¥6.11

180.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.56

$0.55 ¥3.69

350.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.55 ¥3.67

196.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.3

$3.22 ¥21.53

1268.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.86

$10.46 ¥69.9

18.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.66

$0.74 ¥4.95

620.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.41

$1.65 ¥11.00

212.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.52

$0.27 ¥1.79

1322.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$16.92 ¥113

736.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.32

$1.35 ¥9.01

225.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.02

$0.36 ¥2.38

288.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.86

$6.50 ¥43.43

358.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.10

$1.13 ¥7.55

29.20%

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

$28.1K A$40.4K

$19.3K ¥129.3K

45.51%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$17.2K ¥114.7K

51.22%

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

$233 A$334

$45.89 ¥307

406.97%

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

$27.28 A$39.20

$9.82 ¥65.6

177.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$82.0

$11.85 ¥79.2

381.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.7

$41.57 ¥278

26.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.50

$14.14 ¥94.5

59.97%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.58

$5.79 ¥38.72

195.34%

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

$2,373 A$3,411

$341 ¥2,277

596.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.8K

$17.0K ¥113.9K

78.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$43.28 ¥289

80.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.5

$30.23 ¥202

66.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$71.0 ¥475

69.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$72.5 ¥485

83.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,461

$280 ¥1,872

511.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,015

$193 ¥1,291

625.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,798

$583 ¥3,897

472.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,634

$359 ¥2,402

603.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.1K

$2,980 ¥19.9K

135.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,725

$1,990 ¥13.3K

240.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,077

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.89

51.67%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Zunyi: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Zunyi

$193 26.9% 86.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Zunyi

$200 27.8% 48.2% $186

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Zunyi

$68 9.4% 78.7% $249

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Zunyi

$86 12% 72.6% $228

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Zunyi

$98 13.6% 43.2% $74

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Zunyi

$21 2.9% 87.4% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Zunyi

$53 7.4% 38.8% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $280 in Zunyi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $22.00 in Zunyi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $200 per month, with Zunyi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇨🇳 Zunyi

🕒 Local time

14:33 2:33 PM

11:33 11:33 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

6,606,675

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Zunyi 8,290 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Zunyi

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 Zunyi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Zunyi differ by about 303% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $708 including rent). Zunyi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,277 in Melbourne and $1,063 in Zunyi 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: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $280 in Zunyi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $341 in Zunyi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 93% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $708 in Zunyi versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Zunyi but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Zunyi 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 Zunyi 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 Zunyi 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.