Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Fuzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Fuzhou: $762 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,700 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Fuzhou
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Fuzhou Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Fuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$762

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Fuzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $762 in Fuzhou.

Sydney $3,152
Fuzhou $762

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,227 in Fuzhou.

Sydney $4,710
Fuzhou $1,227

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,692 in Fuzhou.

Sydney $6,268
Fuzhou $1,692

Living in Sydney is roughly 314% more expensive than in Fuzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Fuzhou is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$3.06 ¥20.47

474.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$23.06 ¥154

296.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$5.08 ¥33.98

135.43%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.50 ¥16.74

62.80%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.47 ¥3.12

506.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.27 ¥1.78

733.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$0.86 ¥5.73

783.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$1.74 ¥11.66

327.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$2.06 ¥13.81

-19.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.41 ¥9.43

97.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.93 ¥6.23

160.22%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.55 ¥10.39

263.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$7.65 ¥51.1

53.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$2.18 ¥14.58

343.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$8.97 ¥60.0

86.73%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.80 ¥12.07

126.11%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.32 ¥8.81

146.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$1.68 ¥11.22

104.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.07 ¥7.14

300.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$0.84 ¥5.63

290.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.01 ¥6.75

127.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.44 ¥2.93

422.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.52 ¥3.49

132.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$3.01 ¥20.13

1352.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$10.99 ¥73.5

26.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.72 ¥4.81

441.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.22 ¥8.13

220.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.29 ¥1.93

948.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$23.66 ¥158

534.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$1.52 ¥10.14

122.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.29 ¥1.91

437.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$7.28 ¥48.68

449.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.25 ¥8.37

12.00%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$19.4K ¥129.7K

50.16%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$15.6K ¥104.1K

93.55%

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

$223 A$320

$43.17 ¥289

415.64%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$8.53 ¥57.1

218.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$8.94 ¥59.8

524.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$42.27 ¥283

76.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$14.76 ¥98.7

62.53%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$7.38 ¥49.31

137.94%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$209 ¥1,395

952.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$12.1K ¥81.0K

132.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$39.90 ¥267

96.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$29.42 ¥197

132.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$90.5 ¥605

22.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$86.9 ¥581

54.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$458 ¥3,060

446.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$250 ¥1,672

583.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$1,038 ¥6,939

376.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$514 ¥3,438

487.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$4,514 ¥30.2K

191.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$2,346 ¥15.7K

256.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$1,006 ¥6,728

308.79%

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 11, 2026

Last update for Fuzhou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Fuzhou

$250 32.8% 85.4% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Fuzhou

$175 23% 53.8% $204

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Fuzhou

$61 8% 80.2% $245

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Fuzhou

$80 10.6% 73% $218

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Fuzhou

$111 14.6% 37.1% $66

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Fuzhou

$28 3.6% 84% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Fuzhou

$57 7.5% 48% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $458 in Fuzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 309% 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 $23.00 in Fuzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $175 per month, with Fuzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Fuzhou

🕒 Local time

13:07 1:07 PM

10:07 10:07 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

8,291,268

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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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Between locations

Sydney Fuzhou 7,470 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 Fuzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fuzhou wins on cost – living expenses run 314% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Fuzhou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 309% 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 $458 in Fuzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Fuzhou – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $91.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,152 per month in Sydney versus $762 in Fuzhou – a 314% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $762 in Fuzhou versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fuzhou but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Fuzhou 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 Fuzhou 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 Fuzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 314% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.