Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Cixi

For one person, living is cheaper in Cixi: $725 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,500 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Cixi
Learn more

Cixi Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Cixi

🇨🇳 China

$725

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Cixi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $725 in Cixi.

Sydney $3,182
Cixi $725

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $1,145 in Cixi.

Sydney $4,696
Cixi $1,145

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $1,564 in Cixi.

Sydney $6,210
Cixi $1,564

Living in Sydney is roughly 339% more expensive than in Cixi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 137% above, Cixi is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.38

$2.86 ¥19.14

517.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$140

$21.88 ¥146

343.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.16

$4.73 ¥31.61

152.43%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.75

$2.96 ¥19.77

35.14%

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

$2.84 A$4.07

$0.47 ¥3.14

504.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.26

$0.29 ¥1.95

682.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.34

$0.94 ¥6.28

739.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.24

$2.04 ¥13.64

249.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.39

$1.85 ¥12.40

-10.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.01

$1.60 ¥10.68

74.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.34

$0.95 ¥6.37

144.21%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.95

$1.54 ¥10.28

259.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.36

$12.74 ¥85.1

-5.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.15

$3.16 ¥21.11

211.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.88

$10.37 ¥69.3

60.17%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.78

$1.86 ¥12.42

116.13%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$1.25 ¥8.37

152.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.04

$1.48 ¥9.89

136.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.42

$1.11 ¥7.41

302.70%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.78

$0.74 ¥4.93

348.65%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.90 ¥6.01

155.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.37

$0.56 ¥3.71

317.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.66

$0.54 ¥3.63

112.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.7

$3.15 ¥21.04

1329.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$20.06

$10.77 ¥72.0

29.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.72

$0.78 ¥5.22

410.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.84

$1.65 ¥11.00

146.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.54

$0.29 ¥1.95

989.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$16.62 ¥111

802.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.96

$1.42 ¥9.48

142.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.36 ¥2.39

352.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.5

$6.71 ¥44.85

495.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.13 ¥7.55

23.89%

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

$28.4K A$40.8K

$19.7K ¥132.0K

43.95%

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

$29.4K A$42.3K

$17.1K ¥114.4K

71.71%

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

$220 A$316

$44.63 ¥298

392.70%

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

$27.70 A$39.81

$9.55 ¥63.8

190.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.8

$11.71 ¥78.3

374.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$107

$42.36 ¥283

75.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.42

$14.18 ¥94.7

68.90%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.48

$6.06 ¥40.49

192.57%

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

$2,157 A$3,100

$333 ¥2,227

547.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.7K

$17.1K ¥114.4K

65.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$43.43 ¥290

80.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$29.82 ¥199

136.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$72.8 ¥486

52.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$72.7 ¥486

81.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,613

$283 ¥1,894

787.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,489

$192 ¥1,281

803.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$7,025

$588 ¥3,929

731.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,367

$366 ¥2,448

729.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$19.0K

$3,000 ¥20.0K

340.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.7K

$1,998 ¥13.4K

306.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,867

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.89

50.13%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cixi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Cixi

$192 26.8% 88.9% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Cixi

$199 27.9% 47.6% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Cixi

$66 9.2% 78.3% $237

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Cixi

$84 11.8% 71.8% $215

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Cixi

$98 13.8% 44.2% $78

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Cixi

$21 2.9% 87.9% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Cixi

$54 7.6% 50.4% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,514 in Sydney and $283 in Cixi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $97.0 in Sydney vs $22.00 in Cixi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $199 per month, with Cixi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Cixi

🕒 Local time

17:18 5:18 PM

14:18 2:18 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

1,829,488

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Cixi 7,780 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Cixi

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 Cixi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cixi wins on cost – living expenses run 339% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cixi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $4,774 in Sydney and $1,088 in Cixi 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: $2,514 in Sydney versus $283 in Cixi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,157 in Sydney versus $333 in Cixi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 91% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $725 in Cixi versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cixi but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Cixi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cixi delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $725 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cixi hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sydney and Cixi 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 Cixi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 339% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.