Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Haikou

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $806 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,200 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Haikou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $806 in Haikou.

Sydney $3,152
Haikou $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,152 in Haikou.

Sydney $4,710
Haikou $1,152

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,497 in Haikou.

Sydney $6,268
Haikou $1,497

Living in Sydney is roughly 291% more expensive than in Haikou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Haikou is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$4.40 ¥29.45

299.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$14.72 ¥98.4

521.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$6.02 ¥40.26

98.67%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.43 ¥16.25

67.49%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.86 ¥5.74

231.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.34 ¥2.27

561.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.51 ¥10.06

403.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$2.72 ¥18.18

173.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$2.13 ¥14.26

-22.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.48 ¥9.90

87.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.66 ¥4.40

266.67%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.36 ¥9.07

314.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$3.92 ¥26.23

146.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$15.42 ¥103

8.63%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.69 ¥11.30

140.83%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$0.87 ¥5.80

273.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$1.11 ¥7.40

209.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$0.93 ¥6.24

360.22%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$0.89 ¥5.95

268.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$0.73 ¥4.85

215.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.47 ¥3.12

389.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.57 ¥3.83

112.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$3.09 ¥20.68

1314.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$8.76 ¥58.6

58.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.57 ¥3.84

584.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.23 ¥8.23

217.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.92 ¥6.17

230.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$53.3 ¥356

182.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$2.19 ¥14.66

54.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.43 ¥2.86

262.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.22 ¥8.15

14.75%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

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

$223 A$320

$35.41 ¥237

528.64%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$13.21 ¥88.3

105.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$13.38 ¥89.4

317.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$45.67 ¥305

63.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$6.33 ¥42.35

278.99%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$4.50 ¥30.10

290.22%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$862 ¥5,762

154.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

44.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$27.00 ¥181

190.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$34.89 ¥233

96.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$44.76 ¥299

148.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$37.57 ¥251

257.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$377 ¥2,523

562.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$294 ¥1,966

481.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$570 ¥3,808

768.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$369 ¥2,469

718.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$3,154 ¥21.1K

317.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$2,183 ¥14.6K

283.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$727 ¥4,859

466.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.85

51.69%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Haikou

$294 36.5% 82.8% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Haikou

$169 * 20.9% 55.5% $210

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Haikou

$62 7.7% 79.7% $244

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Haikou

$100 12.4% 66.4% $198

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Haikou

$65 8.1% 63.3% $112

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Haikou

$61 7.6% 64.7% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Haikou

$55 6.8% 50.2% $55

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $377 in Haikou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 466% 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 $15.00 in Haikou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $169 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Haikou

🕒 Local time

05:56 5:56 AM

02:56 2:56 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

2,873,358

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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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Sydney Haikou 7,400 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Haikou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Haikou differ by about 291% in total monthly costs ($3,152 vs $806 including rent). Haikou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 466% 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 $377 in Haikou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,152 per month in Sydney versus $806 in Haikou – a 291% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Haikou runs roughly 182% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $806 in Haikou versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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 Haikou 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 Haikou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 291% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.