Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rizhao and Sydney

For one person, living is cheaper in Rizhao: $667 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Rizhao
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Rizhao Living Index
155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index

Jump to prices

Rizhao

🇨🇳 China

$667

/mo nomad

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rizhao and in Sydney

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $667 in Rizhao versus $3,152 in Sydney.

Rizhao $667
Sydney $3,152

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,077 in Rizhao versus $4,710 in Sydney.

Rizhao $1,077
Sydney $4,710

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,487 in Rizhao versus $6,268 in Sydney.

Rizhao $1,487
Sydney $6,268

Living in Rizhao costs roughly 79% less than in Sydney, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rizhao is 51% below, Sydney is 133% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.54 ¥16.95

$17.57 A$25.29

-85.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.14 ¥128

$91.5 A$132

-79.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.82 ¥32.21

$11.96 A$17.21

-59.70%

Cappuccino

$1.95 ¥13.05

$4.07 A$5.85

-52.09%

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

$0.46 ¥3.10

$2.85 A$4.10

-83.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 ¥1.54

$2.25 A$3.24

-89.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.87

$7.60 A$10.94

-88.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 ¥13.21

$7.43 A$10.69

-73.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ¥9.78

$1.66 A$2.38

-12.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 ¥9.87

$2.78 A$4.00

-46.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.46 ¥3.08

$2.42 A$3.49

-80.99%

Eggs

$1.07 ¥7.14

$5.64 A$8.12

-81.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.73 ¥78.4

$11.71 A$16.85

0.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 ¥22.32

$9.66 A$13.89

-65.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.35 ¥75.9

$16.75 A$24.10

-32.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.46 ¥9.78

$4.07 A$5.85

-64.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.81

$3.25 A$4.68

-68.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.77 ¥5.17

$3.44 A$4.96

-77.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 ¥7.65

$4.28 A$6.16

-73.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 ¥3.87

$3.28 A$4.72

-82.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.68 ¥4.57

$2.30 A$3.30

-70.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 ¥3.85

$2.30 A$3.31

-74.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ¥4.19

$1.21 A$1.74

-47.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.66 ¥24.45

$43.71 A$62.9

-91.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.99 ¥66.8

$13.88 A$19.97

-28.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ¥4.81

$3.90 A$5.62

-81.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 ¥9.08

$3.91 A$5.63

-65.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$3.04 A$4.38

-90.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.44 ¥117

$150 A$216

-88.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 ¥8.20

$3.38 A$4.86

-63.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.25 ¥1.67

$1.56 A$2.24

-83.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.52 ¥30.21

$40.01 A$57.6

-88.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 ¥7.92

$1.40 A$2.01

-15.00%

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

$19.1K ¥127.6K

$29.1K A$41.9K

-34.46%

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

$14.8K ¥99.1K

$30.1K A$43.4K

-50.81%

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

$73.5 ¥491

$223 A$320

-66.98%

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

$6.63 ¥44.30

$27.16 A$39.08

-75.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$5.18 ¥34.65

$55.8 A$80.3

-90.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.51 ¥244

$74.6 A$107

-51.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.25 ¥88.6

$23.99 A$34.52

-44.77%

Cinema Ticket

$5.36 ¥35.87

$17.56 A$25.27

-69.48%

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

$218 ¥1,458

$2,196 A$3,160

-90.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K ¥132.4K

$28.2K A$40.6K

-29.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.08 ¥228

$78.4 A$113

-56.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.15 ¥289

$68.4 A$98.5

-36.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.2 ¥476

$111 A$160

-35.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.4 ¥464

$134 A$193

-48.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$299 ¥1,999

$2,500 A$3,598

-88.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$163 ¥1,090

$1,709 A$2,460

-90.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$623 ¥4,167

$4,946 A$7,117

-87.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$375 ¥2,505

$3,022 A$4,349

-87.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,578 ¥23.9K

$13.2K A$18.9K

-72.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,144 ¥14.3K

$8,370 A$12.0K

-74.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.13

5.84

-46.40%

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

Last update for Rizhao: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Rizhao

$183 27.4%

Sydney

$379 12% 107% $196

Accommodation & Living

Rizhao

$163 24.4%

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2% 949% $1.5K

Clothing & Footwear

Rizhao

$98 14.7%

Sydney

$177 5.6% 80.2% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rizhao

$85 12.8%

Sydney

$306 9.7% 258% $220

Eating Out

Rizhao

$69 10.4%

Sydney

$299 9.5% 331% $229

Sport & Entertainment

Rizhao

$47 7.1%

Sydney

$110 3.5% 132% $63

Getting Around

Rizhao

$21 3.2%

Sydney

$174 5.5% 724% $153

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $299 in Rizhao and $2,500 in Sydney. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19.00 in Rizhao vs $91.0 in Sydney for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $183 vs $379 per month, with Rizhao cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Rizhao

🇦🇺 Sydney

🕒 Local time

17:00 5:00 PM

20:00 8:00 PM

3 h ahead of Rizhao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,143,000

4,840,600

💱 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

Rizhao Sydney 8,380 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rizhao
Sydney

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

Rizhao vs Sydney: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rizhao and Sydney differ by about 373% in total monthly costs ($667 vs $3,152 including rent). Rizhao is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,000 in Rizhao and $4,728 in Sydney 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: $299 in Rizhao versus $2,500 in Sydney. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rizhao – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $91.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $667 per month in Rizhao versus $3,152 in Sydney – a 373% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $667 in Rizhao versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rizhao but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Rizhao 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, Rizhao and Sydney 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 Rizhao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 373% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.