Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between South Yarra and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,244 a month against $2,436 in South Yarra, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in South Yarra
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South Yarra Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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South Yarra

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,436

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in South Yarra and in Shanghai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,436 in South Yarra versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

South Yarra $2,436
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,527 in South Yarra versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

South Yarra $3,527
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,618 in South Yarra versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

South Yarra $4,618
Shanghai $2,755

Living in South Yarra is roughly 96% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: South Yarra is 80% above, Shanghai is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.64 A$25.39

$4.56 ¥30.47

286.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 A$122

$30.21 ¥202

179.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.25 A$11.87

$5.25 ¥35.13

57.14%

Cappuccino

$3.53 A$5.08

$3.28 ¥21.94

7.62%

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

$2.07 A$2.98

$0.57 ¥3.84

263.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 A$2.46

$0.36 ¥2.39

375.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.78 A$14.08

$1.23 ¥8.23

695.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.24 A$11.85

$2.27 ¥15.18

263.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 A$2.22

$1.84 ¥12.30

-16.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.74 A$3.95

$1.96 ¥13.08

39.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 A$2.03

$1.03 ¥6.87

36.89%

Eggs

$4.24 A$6.10

$1.67 ¥11.16

153.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.35 A$14.89

$16.96 ¥113

-38.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.94 A$9.99

$3.19 ¥21.33

117.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.17 A$21.83

$12.90 ¥86.3

17.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 A$4.10

$2.24 ¥15.00

27.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 A$2.92

$1.66 ¥11.13

22.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 A$1.95

$2.02 ¥13.54

-32.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 A$4.03

$1.66 ¥11.08

68.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 A$2.03

$0.77 ¥5.17

83.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 A$3.04

$0.93 ¥6.21

127.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.41 A$3.47

$0.63 ¥4.19

282.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 A$2.35

$0.60 ¥3.99

173.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$31.82 A$45.79

$3.80 ¥25.44

737.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.30 A$17.69

$10.87 ¥72.7

13.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.70 A$8.20

$0.82 ¥5.51

595.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.26 A$7.56

$1.61 ¥10.76

226.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.92 A$4.20

$0.61 ¥4.11

378.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$81.7 A$118

$29.40 ¥197

178.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 A$6.43

$2.11 ¥14.11

111.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.05

$0.43 ¥2.87

230.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.47 A$43.85

$9.06 ¥60.6

236.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 A$1.88

$1.33 ¥8.89

-1.50%

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

$28.4K A$40.9K

$19.0K ¥127.2K

49.48%

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

$26.6K A$38.2K

$18.7K ¥125.1K

42.00%

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

$232 A$334

$57.8 ¥387

301.25%

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

$27.31 A$39.30

$8.09 ¥54.1

237.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.68 A$60.0

$10.48 ¥70.0

297.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.2 A$79.4

$65.7 ¥439

-16.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.96 A$24.40

$17.82 ¥119

-4.83%

Cinema Ticket

$13.70 A$19.71

$8.95 ¥59.9

53.07%

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

$2,417 A$3,478

$1,414 ¥9,451

70.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.4K A$43.7K

$27.9K ¥186.2K

9.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.4 A$117

$54.0 ¥361

50.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.8 A$73.1

$37.09 ¥248

36.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 A$168

$74.3 ¥496

57.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$106 ¥706

25.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,367 A$1,967

$1,055 ¥7,056

29.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 A$1,674

$585 ¥3,910

98.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,109 A$3,035

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-15.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,788 A$2,573

$1,232 ¥8,240

45.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,707 A$8,212

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-59.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,659 A$8,143

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-9.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 ¥11.4K

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 South Yarra: October 11, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

South Yarra

$1.2K 47.8%

Shanghai

$585 47% 49.7% $579

Groceries & Markets

South Yarra

$324 13.3%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 27.5% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

South Yarra

$301 12.4%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 74.6% $225

Eating Out

South Yarra

$289 11.9%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 63.3% $183

Clothing & Footwear

South Yarra

$172 7%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 28.9% $50

Getting Around

South Yarra

$105 4.3%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 65.6% $69

Sport & Entertainment

South Yarra

$83 3.4%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 1.3% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,367 in South Yarra and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in South Yarra vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 South Yarra

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

02:02 2:02 AM

23:02 11:02 PM

3 h behind South Yarra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,147

24,870,895

💱 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 = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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South Yarra Shanghai 8,060 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

South Yarra
Shanghai

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

South Yarra vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

South Yarra and Shanghai differ by about 96% in total monthly costs ($2,436 vs $1,244 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,654 in South Yarra and $1,865 in Shanghai 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: $1,367 in South Yarra versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,417 in South Yarra versus $1,414 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in South Yarra. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,244 in Shanghai versus $2,436 in South Yarra, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in South Yarra. The gap between the two cities makes Shanghai 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, South Yarra and Shanghai 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 Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 96% less than in South Yarra. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.