Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Huaibei

For one person, living is cheaper in Huaibei: $721 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 Huaibei
Learn more

Huaibei Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Huaibei

🇨🇳 China

$721

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Huaibei

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $721 in Huaibei.

Sydney $3,182
Huaibei $721

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $1,124 in Huaibei.

Sydney $4,696
Huaibei $1,124

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $1,527 in Huaibei.

Sydney $6,210
Huaibei $1,527

Living in Sydney is roughly 342% more expensive than in Huaibei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.38

$2.87 ¥19.18

515.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$140

$21.27 ¥142

356.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.16

$4.85 ¥32.41

146.19%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.75

$3.07 ¥20.53

30.29%

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

$2.84 A$4.07

$0.43 ¥2.87

560.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.26

$0.27 ¥1.80

740.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.34

$0.88 ¥5.91

796.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.24

$2.12 ¥14.15

236.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.39

$1.86 ¥12.45

-10.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.01

$1.61 ¥10.79

73.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.34

$0.94 ¥6.30

146.81%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.95

$1.59 ¥10.65

247.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.36

$12.65 ¥84.5

-4.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.15

$3.22 ¥21.52

205.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.88

$10.32 ¥69.0

60.95%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.78

$1.82 ¥12.15

120.88%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$1.26 ¥8.41

150.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.04

$1.47 ¥9.84

138.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.42

$1.13 ¥7.56

295.58%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.78

$0.69 ¥4.58

381.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.97 ¥6.49

137.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.37

$0.60 ¥4.00

290.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.66

$0.51 ¥3.42

125.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.7

$3.09 ¥20.65

1356.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$20.06

$10.74 ¥71.7

29.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.72

$0.74 ¥4.93

437.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.84

$1.58 ¥10.56

157.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.54

$0.27 ¥1.80

1070.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$16.68 ¥112

799.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.96

$1.36 ¥9.07

153.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.32 ¥2.17

409.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.5

$6.62 ¥44.24

503.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.17 ¥7.81

19.66%

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

$28.4K A$40.8K

$19.8K ¥132.1K

43.79%

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

$29.4K A$42.3K

$17.3K ¥115.8K

69.67%

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

$220 A$316

$45.53 ¥304

382.96%

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

$27.70 A$39.81

$9.86 ¥65.9

180.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.8

$11.93 ¥79.8

365.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$107

$42.31 ¥283

75.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.42

$13.76 ¥92.0

74.06%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.48

$6.07 ¥40.54

192.09%

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

$2,157 A$3,100

$333 ¥2,223

548.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.7K

$16.6K ¥111.2K

69.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$43.13 ¥288

81.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$30.75 ¥205

129.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$72.9 ¥487

52.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$72.3 ¥483

82.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,613

$273 ¥1,828

819.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,489

$191 ¥1,280

804.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$7,025

$590 ¥3,943

728.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,367

$364 ¥2,431

735.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$19.0K

$3,047 ¥20.4K

333.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.7K

$2,054 ¥13.7K

295.21%

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 Huaibei: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Huaibei

$191 26.7% 88.9% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Huaibei

$199 27.8% 47.7% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Huaibei

$67 9.4% 77.8% $236

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Huaibei

$86 12% 71.3% $213

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Huaibei

$99 13.7% 44.1% $78

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Huaibei

$21 2.9% 88.1% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Huaibei

$54 7.6% 50.4% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,514 in Sydney and $273 in Huaibei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $97.0 in Sydney vs $21.00 in Huaibei for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $199 per month, with Huaibei cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Huaibei

🕒 Local time

17:18 5:18 PM

14:18 2:18 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

1,970,265

💱 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 →

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Sydney Huaibei 8,350 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Huaibei

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 Huaibei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Huaibei wins on cost – living expenses run 342% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Huaibei the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $4,774 in Sydney and $1,081 in Huaibei 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 $273 in Huaibei. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,182 per month in Sydney versus $721 in Huaibei – a 342% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Huaibei runs roughly 799% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $721 in Huaibei versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Huaibei but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Huaibei 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 Huaibei 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 Huaibei gentler on the wallet – expenses run 342% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.