Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Huzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Huzhou: $804 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Huzhou
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Huzhou Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Huzhou

🇨🇳 China

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Huzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $804 in Huzhou.

Sydney $3,152
Huzhou $804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,330 in Huzhou.

Sydney $4,710
Huzhou $1,330

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,856 in Huzhou.

Sydney $6,268
Huzhou $1,856

Living in Sydney is roughly 292% more expensive than in Huzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$4.37 ¥29.24

302.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$30.27 ¥202

202.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$5.38 ¥35.94

122.30%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$3.28 ¥21.91

24.09%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.61 ¥4.10

367.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.38 ¥2.54

492.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.23 ¥8.24

517.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$2.27 ¥15.15

227.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.78 ¥11.90

-6.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.97 ¥13.16

41.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$1.04 ¥6.92

132.69%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.72 ¥11.52

227.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$16.96 ¥113

-30.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$3.21 ¥21.48

200.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$12.93 ¥86.5

29.54%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.21 ¥14.80

84.16%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.65 ¥11.06

96.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.01 ¥13.46

71.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.67 ¥11.14

156.29%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$0.77 ¥5.12

325.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$0.94 ¥6.26

144.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.66 ¥4.43

248.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.59 ¥3.92

105.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$3.72 ¥24.88

1075.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$10.80 ¥72.2

28.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.89 ¥5.93

338.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.62 ¥10.81

141.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.29 ¥1.91

948.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$16.29 ¥109

822.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$2.04 ¥13.64

65.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.47 ¥3.13

231.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$8.81 ¥58.9

354.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.28 ¥8.53

9.37%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$19.5K ¥130.3K

49.41%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$18.5K ¥124.0K

62.51%

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

$223 A$320

$56.6 ¥379

293.08%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$7.85 ¥52.5

245.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$10.59 ¥70.8

427.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$46.67 ¥312

59.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$13.48 ¥90.1

77.97%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$9.16 ¥61.3

91.70%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$425 ¥2,840

416.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$27.5K ¥183.9K

2.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$54.9 ¥367

42.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$37.32 ¥250

83.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$74.4 ¥497

49.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$104 ¥695

29.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$300 ¥2,006

733.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$181 ¥1,210

844.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$617 ¥4,122

702.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$409 ¥2,735

638.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$3,531 ¥23.6K

272.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$1,935 ¥12.9K

332.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$1,179 ¥7,884

248.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.36

73.81%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Huzhou: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Huzhou

$181 22.5% 89.4% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Huzhou

$235 29.2% 38% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Huzhou

$75 9.3% 75.4% $231

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Huzhou

$105 13.1% 64.8% $193

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Huzhou

$122 15.1% 31% $55

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Huzhou

$22 2.7% 87.4% $152

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Huzhou

$65 8.1% 40.8% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $300 in Huzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 249% 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 $30.00 in Huzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $235 per month, with Huzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Huzhou

🕒 Local time

21:00 9:00 PM

18:00 6:00 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

2,893,542

💱 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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Sydney Huzhou 7,910 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 Huzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Huzhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 292% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 249% 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 $300 in Huzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Huzhou – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $91.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $804 in Huzhou versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Huzhou but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Huzhou 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 Huzhou 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 Huzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 292% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.