Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Bengbu

For one person, living is cheaper in Bengbu: $666 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.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
Learn more

Sydney Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Bengbu
Learn more

Bengbu Living Index

Jump to prices

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Bengbu

🇨🇳 China

$666

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Bengbu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $666 in Bengbu.

Sydney $3,152
Bengbu $666

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,043 in Bengbu.

Sydney $4,710
Bengbu $1,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,420 in Bengbu.

Sydney $6,268
Bengbu $1,420

Living in Sydney is roughly 373% more expensive than in Bengbu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.17

$2.31 ¥15.42

660.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$131

$10.50 ¥70.2

771.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.13

$4.76 ¥31.81

151.26%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.83

$3.15 ¥21.09

29.21%

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

$2.85 A$4.08

$0.47 ¥3.16

506.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.23

$0.25 ¥1.66

800.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.89

$1.45 ¥9.67

424.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.64

$2.21 ¥14.75

236.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.37

$2.18 ¥14.57

-23.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$3.99

$1.02 ¥6.82

172.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.47

$0.72 ¥4.85

236.11%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.08

$1.32 ¥8.83

327.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.78

$10.42 ¥69.7

12.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.83

$3.04 ¥20.30

217.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.00

$9.00 ¥60.2

86.11%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.83

$1.50 ¥10.03

171.33%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.66

$1.07 ¥7.13

203.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.93

$1.52 ¥10.16

126.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.13

$0.78 ¥5.22

448.72%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.69

$0.62 ¥4.16

429.03%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.63 ¥4.20

265.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.76 ¥5.09

202.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.73

$0.43 ¥2.90

181.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.6

$2.93 ¥19.57

1391.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.88

$6.10 ¥40.82

127.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.59

$0.76 ¥5.11

413.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.60

$1.47 ¥9.86

165.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.31 ¥2.09

880.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$20.48 ¥137

633.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.84

$1.61 ¥10.76

109.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.23

$0.38 ¥2.57

310.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.3

$9.15 ¥61.2

337.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.00

$1.29 ¥8.66

8.53%

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

$29.1K A$41.7K

$19.2K ¥128.4K

51.67%

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

$30.1K A$43.2K

$16.6K ¥111.3K

81.10%

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

$223 A$319

$36.70 ¥245

506.54%

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

$27.16 A$38.91

$5.39 ¥36.02

403.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.0

$7.07 ¥47.25

689.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$41.28 ¥276

80.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.37

$16.25 ¥109

47.63%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.16

$5.99 ¥40.08

193.16%

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

$2,196 A$3,146

$417 ¥2,789

426.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.4K

$22.1K ¥148.0K

27.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$43.41 ¥290

80.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.0

$33.77 ¥226

102.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$66.1 ¥442

68.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$88.5 ¥592

51.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,582

$294 ¥1,969

749.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,449

$181 ¥1,209

845.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,085

$586 ¥3,921

743.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,329

$349 ¥2,335

765.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$3,507 ¥23.5K

275.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$2,194 ¥14.7K

281.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,893

$668 ¥4,469

515.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.42

70.76%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bengbu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Bengbu

$181 27.2% 89.4% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Bengbu

$168 25.2% 55.7% $211

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Bengbu

$49 7.4% 83.9% $256

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Bengbu

$85 12.8% 71.5% $213

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Bengbu

$104 15.7% 41% $72

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Bengbu

$25 3.8% 85.4% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Bengbu

$53 8% 51.5% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $294 in Bengbu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 516% 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: $91.0 in Sydney vs $11.00 in Bengbu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $168 per month, with Bengbu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Bengbu

🕒 Local time

17:30 5:30 PM

14:30 2:30 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

3,296,408

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.698 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.698 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sydney Bengbu 8,220 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Bengbu

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

Sydney vs Bengbu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bengbu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 373% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 516% higher in Sydney, 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: $2,500 in Sydney versus $294 in Bengbu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,196 in Sydney versus $417 in Bengbu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 126% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $666 in Bengbu versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bengbu but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Bengbu 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, Sydney and Bengbu 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 Bengbu 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.