Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Qinhuangdao

For one person, living is cheaper in Qinhuangdao: $714 a month against $3,245 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $30,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

156

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Qinhuangdao
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Qinhuangdao Living Index

Jump to prices

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,245

/mo nomad

Qinhuangdao

🇨🇳 China

$714

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Qinhuangdao

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,245 in Sydney versus $714 in Qinhuangdao.

Sydney $3,245
Qinhuangdao $714

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,803 in Sydney versus $1,135 in Qinhuangdao.

Sydney $4,803
Qinhuangdao $1,135

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,362 in Sydney versus $1,556 in Qinhuangdao.

Sydney $6,362
Qinhuangdao $1,556

Living in Sydney is roughly 354% more expensive than in Qinhuangdao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 139% above, Qinhuangdao is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.41 A$25.05

$2.76 ¥18.44

530.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.3 A$130

$21.79 ¥146

314.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 A$17.15

$4.88 ¥32.64

144.26%

Cappuccino

$4.03 A$5.80

$3.04 ¥20.33

32.57%

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

$2.88 A$4.15

$0.47 ¥3.13

512.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 A$3.20

$0.27 ¥1.79

725.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.36

$0.92 ¥6.18

757.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 A$9.76

$2.13 ¥14.24

218.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 A$2.45

$1.85 ¥12.37

-7.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.55 ¥10.38

89.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 A$3.61

$0.89 ¥5.94

182.02%

Eggs

$5.55 A$7.99

$1.53 ¥10.25

262.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 A$16.94

$13.05 ¥87.3

-9.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 A$13.35

$3.11 ¥20.80

198.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.70 A$24.03

$10.33 ¥69.1

61.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.92 A$5.64

$1.87 ¥12.52

109.63%

Banana (1kg)

$3.16 A$4.55

$1.25 ¥8.36

152.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.48 A$5.00

$1.47 ¥9.82

136.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.38 A$6.31

$1.15 ¥7.66

280.87%

Potato (1kg)

$3.33 A$4.79

$0.73 ¥4.90

356.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.46

$0.95 ¥6.36

152.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.31 A$3.32

$0.60 ¥4.01

285.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.51 ¥3.42

125.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.34 A$63.8

$3.05 ¥20.41

1353.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.71 A$19.72

$10.69 ¥71.5

28.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.00 A$5.75

$0.79 ¥5.28

406.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 A$5.80

$1.64 ¥10.94

145.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.22 A$4.63

$0.27 ¥1.79

1092.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$154 A$222

$16.97 ¥113

808.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.57 A$5.14

$1.42 ¥9.52

151.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 A$2.27

$0.33 ¥2.19

378.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.44 A$56.8

$6.62 ¥44.23

495.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.13

$1.14 ¥7.61

29.82%

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

$29.6K A$42.5K

$19.2K ¥128.4K

53.88%

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

$27.7K A$39.8K

$17.1K ¥114.3K

61.77%

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

$241 A$347

$44.64 ¥298

440.73%

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

$27.57 A$39.67

$9.87 ¥66.0

179.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.3 A$81.0

$11.90 ¥79.5

373.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.1 A$112

$42.14 ¥282

85.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.26 A$33.47

$14.09 ¥94.2

65.08%

Cinema Ticket

$17.55 A$25.26

$5.79 ¥38.72

203.11%

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

$2,185 A$3,144

$337 ¥2,254

548.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.8K A$40.0K

$17.2K ¥114.7K

61.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$44.18 ¥295

81.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.7 A$102

$30.35 ¥203

132.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$71.8 ¥480

54.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 A$186

$70.6 ¥472

83.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,477 A$3,564

$276 ¥1,843

798.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,777 A$2,557

$191 ¥1,277

830.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,885 A$7,030

$601 ¥4,016

713.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,093 A$4,451

$362 ¥2,423

753.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K A$19.3K

$3,063 ¥20.5K

337.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,375 A$12.1K

$2,068 ¥13.8K

305.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,074 A$5,862

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

3.89

52.19%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 20, 2026

Last update for Qinhuangdao: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.8K 54.8%

Qinhuangdao

$191 26.8% 89.2% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$378 11.7%

Qinhuangdao

$199 27.9% 47.3% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$325 10%

Qinhuangdao

$66 9.3% 79.6% $259

Eating Out

Sydney

$297 9.2%

Qinhuangdao

$85 11.9% 71.4% $212

Getting Around

Sydney

$178 5.5%

Qinhuangdao

$21 3% 88.2% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.4%

Qinhuangdao

$98 13.7% 44.5% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$113 3.5%

Qinhuangdao

$54 7.5% 52.6% $60

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,477 in Sydney and $276 in Qinhuangdao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $90.0 in Sydney vs $22.00 in Qinhuangdao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $378 vs $199 per month, with Qinhuangdao cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Qinhuangdao

🕒 Local time

20:43 8:43 PM

17:43 5:43 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

2,987,605

💱 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 25, 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 25, 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 Qinhuangdao 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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Sydney
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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 Qinhuangdao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Qinhuangdao differ by about 354% in total monthly costs ($3,245 vs $714 including rent). Qinhuangdao is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,867 in Sydney and $1,071 in Qinhuangdao 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: $2,477 in Sydney versus $276 in Qinhuangdao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 90% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Qinhuangdao – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $90.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $714 in Qinhuangdao versus $3,245 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Qinhuangdao but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Qinhuangdao 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 Qinhuangdao 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 Qinhuangdao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 354% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.