Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Macao

For one person, living is cheaper in Macao: $2,107 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 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
104

Cost of Living Index in Macao
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Macao Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Macao

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Macao

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $2,107 in Macao.

Sydney $3,182
Macao $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $3,021 in Macao.

Sydney $4,696
Macao $3,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $3,935 in Macao.

Sydney $6,210
Macao $3,935

Living in Sydney is roughly 51% more expensive than in Macao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sydney 137% above, Macao 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$6.31 MOP 51.0

179.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$54.9 MOP 444

76.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$5.91 MOP 47.73

102.03%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$4.89 MOP 39.49

-18.20%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$1.06 MOP 8.56

167.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.93 MOP 7.55

144.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$5.63 MOP 45.48

40.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$7.23 MOP 58.4

-1.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$3.09 MOP 24.98

-46.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$1.67 MOP 13.50

67.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$1.73 MOP 13.97

34.10%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$3.40 MOP 27.46

62.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$16.05 MOP 130

-24.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$19.07 MOP 154

-48.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$29.25 MOP 236

-43.21%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$2.71 MOP 21.87

48.34%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$2.86 MOP 23.14

10.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$1.97 MOP 15.90

77.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$2.36 MOP 19.06

89.41%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$3.85 MOP 31.10

-13.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$2.95 MOP 23.85

-22.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$0.66 MOP 5.30

254.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$1.20 MOP 9.74

-4.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$6.64 MOP 53.7

578.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$12.14 MOP 98.1

14.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.77 MOP 14.34

124.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$2.31 MOP 18.66

76.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

$0.76 MOP 6.13

315.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$22.62 MOP 183

562.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$2.57 MOP 20.77

34.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$1.24 MOP 9.99

31.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$15.00 MOP 121

166.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.76 MOP 14.22

-20.45%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

$31.1K MOP 251.3K

-8.58%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$31.8K MOP 256.7K

-7.41%

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

$220 A$315

$124 MOP 1,002

77.32%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$23.44 MOP 189

18.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$36.46 MOP 295

52.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

$63.3 MOP 511

17.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

$3.78 MOP 30.57

533.60%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$14.73 MOP 119

20.37%

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$1,193 MOP 9,642

80.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$19.3K MOP 156.2K

46.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$70.0 MOP 566

12.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$33.25 MOP 269

112.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$92.4 MOP 747

20.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$134 MOP 1,084

-1.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

$1,130 MOP 9,135

122.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

$1,070 MOP 8,650

61.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

$2,092 MOP 16.9K

133.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

$1,461 MOP 11.8K

107.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$8,347 MOP 67.5K

58.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

$5,538 MOP 44.8K

46.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

$2,053 MOP 16.6K

98.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

94.67%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Macao: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Macao

$1.1K 50.3% 38.2% $661

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Macao

$422 19.8% 10.9% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Macao

$184 8.6% 39.3% $119

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Macao

$177 8.3% 40.7% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Macao

$148 7% 15.9% $28

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Macao

$34 1.6% 80.2% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Macao

$93 4.4% 15.5% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,514 in Sydney and $1,130 in Macao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 99% 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: $97.0 in Sydney vs $55.0 in Macao. Groceries flip the comparison at $380 vs $422, with Sydney cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇲🇴 Macao

🕒 Local time

15:53 3:53 PM

12:53 12:53 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

622,567 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Macanese Pataca MOP P

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MOP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 MOP (1 MOP = 0.11 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Macao 7,400 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Macao

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 Macao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Macao wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Macao the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 99% 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: $2,514 in Sydney versus $1,130 in Macao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Macao – a meal for two runs $55.0 versus $97.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,182 per month in Sydney versus $2,107 in Macao – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,107 in Macao versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Macao but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Macao 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 Macao 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 Macao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.