Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Changsha

For one person, living is cheaper in Changsha: $784 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Changsha
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Changsha Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Changsha

🇨🇳 China

$784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Changsha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $784 in Changsha.

Sydney $3,182
Changsha $784

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $1,263 in Changsha.

Sydney $4,696
Changsha $1,263

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $1,742 in Changsha.

Sydney $6,210
Changsha $1,742

Living in Sydney is roughly 306% more expensive than in Changsha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 137% above, Changsha is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$2.96 ¥19.80

496.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$22.08 ¥148

339.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$4.99 ¥33.35

139.28%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$3.43 ¥22.94

16.62%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$0.47 ¥3.12

504.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.25 ¥1.66

808.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$1.25 ¥8.36

531.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$1.97 ¥13.15

261.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.96 ¥13.09

-15.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$2.36 ¥15.76

18.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$0.94 ¥6.29

146.81%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$1.73 ¥11.56

219.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$12.84 ¥85.8

-5.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$3.91 ¥26.13

151.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$11.63 ¥77.7

42.82%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$2.92 ¥19.52

37.67%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$1.44 ¥9.60

118.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$1.90 ¥12.73

84.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$1.94 ¥12.96

130.41%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$1.01 ¥6.76

228.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.57 ¥10.51

46.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$0.65 ¥4.33

260.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.48 ¥3.18

139.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$3.03 ¥20.22

1385.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$12.43 ¥83.0

12.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.07 ¥7.16

271.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$1.54 ¥10.29

164.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

$0.36 ¥2.38

777.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$14.89 ¥99.5

907.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$1.47 ¥9.84

134.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.29 ¥1.92

462.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$4.52 ¥30.22

784.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.29 ¥8.60

8.53%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

$19.5K ¥130.2K

45.93%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$17.4K ¥116.2K

69.12%

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

$220 A$315

$56.9 ¥380

286.79%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$8.83 ¥59.0

213.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$13.56 ¥90.6

309.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

$55.0 ¥367

35.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

$24.39 ¥163

-1.80%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$6.44 ¥43.01

175.31%

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$325 ¥2,169

564.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$16.8K ¥112.2K

68.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$81.8 ¥546

-4.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$34.27 ¥229

105.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$87.2 ¥583

27.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$59.0 ¥395

123.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

$265 ¥1,770

849.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

$168 ¥1,122

931.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

$569 ¥3,804

758.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

$383 ¥2,561

693.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,477 ¥16.6K

433.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

$1,393 ¥9,308

482.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

$1,097 ¥7,331

272.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.46

68.79%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Changsha: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Changsha

$168 21.5% 90.3% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Changsha

$235 30.1% 38.2% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Changsha

$79 10.2% 73.9% $224

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Changsha

$93 11.9% 69% $206

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Changsha

$118 15.1% 33.1% $58

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Changsha

$19 2.5% 89% $155

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Changsha

$68 8.7% 38.2% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,514 in Sydney and $265 in Changsha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 272% 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: $97.0 in Sydney vs $22.00 in Changsha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $235 per month, with Changsha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Changsha

🕒 Local time

15:46 3:46 PM

12:46 12:46 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

5,289,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Sydney Changsha 7,990 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Changsha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Changsha differ by about 306% in total monthly costs ($3,182 vs $784 including rent). Changsha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 272% 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: $2,514 in Sydney versus $265 in Changsha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Changsha – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $97.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,182 per month in Sydney versus $784 in Changsha – a 306% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $784 in Changsha versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Changsha but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Changsha 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 Changsha 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 Changsha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 306% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.