Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Quanzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Quanzhou: $815 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,000 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 Quanzhou
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Quanzhou Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Quanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$815

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Quanzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $815 in Quanzhou.

Sydney $3,152
Quanzhou $815

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,204 in Quanzhou.

Sydney $4,710
Quanzhou $1,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,593 in Quanzhou.

Sydney $6,268
Quanzhou $1,593

Living in Sydney is roughly 287% more expensive than in Quanzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.17

$2.20 ¥14.70

698.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$131

$30.02 ¥201

204.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.13

$6.48 ¥43.35

84.57%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.83

$3.26 ¥21.82

24.85%

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

$2.85 A$4.08

$0.96 ¥6.40

196.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.23

$0.27 ¥1.80

733.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.89

$2.95 ¥19.70

157.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.64

$1.75 ¥11.72

324.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.37

$1.45 ¥9.72

14.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$3.99

$0.86 ¥5.74

223.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.47

$0.93 ¥6.23

160.22%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.08

$1.53 ¥10.27

268.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.78

$7.68 ¥51.4

52.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.83

$2.30 ¥15.36

320.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.00

$5.12 ¥34.25

227.15%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.83

$1.46 ¥9.74

178.77%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.66

$0.99 ¥6.62

228.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.93

$0.72 ¥4.80

377.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.13

$1.08 ¥7.21

296.30%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.69

$0.46 ¥3.11

613.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.29

$1.05 ¥7.00

119.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.16 ¥1.09

1337.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.73

$0.48 ¥3.18

152.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.6

$3.15 ¥21.08

1287.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.88

$7.67 ¥51.3

80.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.59

$0.88 ¥5.92

343.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.60

$1.38 ¥9.20

183.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.31 ¥2.07

880.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$23.44 ¥157

540.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.84

$1.22 ¥8.18

177.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.23

$0.35 ¥2.34

345.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.3

$9.01 ¥60.3

344.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.00

$1.25 ¥8.36

12.00%

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

$29.1K A$41.7K

$17.6K ¥117.6K

65.56%

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

$30.1K A$43.2K

$15.7K ¥104.9K

92.01%

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

$223 A$319

$52.8 ¥353

321.91%

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

$27.16 A$38.91

$7.95 ¥53.2

241.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.0

$12.15 ¥81.3

359.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$54.4 ¥364

37.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.37

$18.63 ¥125

28.77%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.16

$5.83 ¥38.96

201.20%

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

$2,196 A$3,146

$514 ¥3,438

327.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.4K

$11.8K ¥79.0K

138.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$20.64 ¥138

279.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.0

$34.07 ¥228

100.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$92.7 ¥620

19.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$96.5 ¥646

39.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,582

$277 ¥1,851

803.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,449

$303 ¥2,027

463.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,085

$503 ¥3,362

883.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,329

$410 ¥2,743

636.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$3,004 ¥20.1K

338.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$2,008 ¥13.4K

316.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,893

$829 ¥5,545

396.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.15

85.40%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Quanzhou: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Quanzhou

$303 37.2% 82.3% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Quanzhou

$137 16.8% 63.9% $242

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Quanzhou

$73 8.9% 76.2% $233

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Quanzhou

$99 12.2% 66.7% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Quanzhou

$110 13.5% 37.9% $67

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Quanzhou

$28 3.4% 84.1% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Quanzhou

$66 8.1% 39.8% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $277 in Quanzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 396% 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 Quanzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $137 per month, with Quanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Quanzhou

🕒 Local time

20:31 8:31 PM

17:31 5:31 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

8,128,530

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.698 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.698 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 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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Between locations

Sydney Quanzhou 7,380 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Quanzhou

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 Quanzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Quanzhou differ by about 287% in total monthly costs ($3,152 vs $815 including rent). Quanzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 396% 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 $277 in Quanzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Quanzhou – 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.

All in, you'll spend $3,152 per month in Sydney versus $815 in Quanzhou – a 287% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $815 in Quanzhou versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Quanzhou but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Quanzhou 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 Quanzhou 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 Quanzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 287% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.