Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Putian and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Putian: $518 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $28,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Putian
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Putian Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Putian

🇨🇳 China

$518

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Putian and in Melbourne

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Putian and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $518 in Putian versus $2,853 in Melbourne.

Putian $518
Melbourne $2,853

Estimated couple costs with rent: $854 in Putian versus $4,275 in Melbourne.

Putian $854
Melbourne $4,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,190 in Putian versus $5,697 in Melbourne.

Putian $1,190
Melbourne $5,697

Living in Putian costs roughly 82% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Putian is 62% below, Melbourne is 111% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.21 ¥14.79

$17.20 A$24.75

-87.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.26 ¥156

$83.1 A$120

-72.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.17 ¥34.57

$12.43 A$17.88

-58.41%

Cappuccino

$2.44 ¥16.32

$4.05 A$5.82

-39.75%

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

$0.43 ¥2.88

$3.12 A$4.50

-86.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$2.46 A$3.54

-88.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.77 ¥5.16

$9.52 A$13.71

-91.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 ¥19.58

$8.16 A$11.74

-64.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 ¥9.82

$1.56 A$2.25

-5.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 ¥15.07

$2.90 A$4.18

-22.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.19

$2.66 A$3.82

-65.04%

Eggs

$1.58 ¥10.58

$5.37 A$7.72

-70.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.73 ¥78.4

$10.67 A$15.36

9.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.43 ¥16.22

$9.85 A$14.17

-75.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.18 ¥81.4

$15.36 A$22.11

-20.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 ¥17.03

$4.17 A$6.00

-38.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 ¥9.49

$3.15 A$4.53

-54.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 ¥11.34

$3.26 A$4.69

-47.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ¥13.25

$4.76 A$6.85

-58.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.79

$3.06 A$4.41

-66.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 ¥11.86

$2.47 A$3.55

-28.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 ¥6.19

$2.45 A$3.52

-62.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ¥3.36

$1.63 A$2.34

-69.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 ¥20.31

$45.17 A$65.0

-93.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.18 ¥74.8

$12.68 A$18.25

-11.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥5.58

$5.69 A$8.18

-85.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 ¥11.44

$5.23 A$7.53

-67.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 ¥4.92

$3.87 A$5.57

-80.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.38 ¥150

$142 A$204

-84.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ¥10.16

$4.54 A$6.53

-66.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.94

$1.42 A$2.04

-79.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.02 ¥46.94

$30.59 A$44.01

-77.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.76

$1.47 A$2.11

-10.88%

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

$19.4K ¥129.8K

$28.9K A$41.5K

-32.74%

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

$17.8K ¥118.8K

$25.9K A$37.3K

-31.44%

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

$44.03 ¥294

$235 A$338

-81.27%

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

$8.87 ¥59.3

$27.45 A$39.51

-67.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.55 ¥70.6

$56.1 A$80.8

-81.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

Cinema Ticket

$10.08 ¥67.4

$17.76 A$25.56

-43.24%

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

$492 ¥3,286

$2,385 A$3,432

-79.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K ¥163.6K

$29.7K A$42.7K

-17.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.10 ¥261

$79.2 A$114

-50.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.11 ¥195

$49.49 A$71.2

-41.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 ¥691

$118 A$170

-12.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.7 ¥573

$132 A$190

-35.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,637 ¥17.6K

$7,136 A$10.3K

-63.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,115 ¥7,452

$6,355 A$9,144

-82.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$480 ¥3,211

$4,258 A$6,128

-88.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

5.9

-41.36%

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

Last update for Putian: October 20, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Putian

$215 41.6%

Melbourne

$388 13.6% 80.4% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Putian

$116 22.4%

Melbourne

$171 6% 47.4% $55

Eating Out

Putian

$75 14.5%

Melbourne

$310 10.9% 312% $235

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Putian

$63 12.3%

Melbourne

$319 11.2% 402% $255

Getting Around

Putian

$28 5.5%

Melbourne

$169 5.9% 498% $141

Sport & Entertainment

Putian

$20 * 3.9%

Melbourne

$86 3% 325% $65

Accommodation & Living

Putian

- * 0%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Melbourne pays 787% 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: $23.00 in Putian vs $83.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $388 per month, with Putian cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Putian

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

06:36 6:36 AM

09:36 9:36 AM

3 h ahead of Putian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,954,000

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

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).

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).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Putian Melbourne 7,540 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Putian
Melbourne

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

Putian vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Putian and Melbourne differ by about 451% in total monthly costs ($518 vs $2,853 including rent). Putian is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 787% lower in Melbourne. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $492 in Putian versus $2,385 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 80% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $518 in Putian versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Putian but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Putian 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, Putian and Melbourne 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 Putian gentler on the wallet – expenses run 451% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.