Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Quzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Quzhou: $679 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,700 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Quzhou
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Quzhou Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Quzhou

🇨🇳 China

$679

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Quzhou

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $679 in Quzhou, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Quzhou $679

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $1,133 in Quzhou, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Quzhou $1,133

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $1,586 in Quzhou, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Quzhou $1,586

Sydney costs about 364% more than Quzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 133% above the global median, while Quzhou is 50% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.17

$2.88 ¥19.27

510.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$131

$30.36 ¥203

201.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.13

$4.52 ¥30.22

164.60%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.83

$3.48 ¥23.27

16.95%

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

$2.85 A$4.08

$0.48 ¥3.21

493.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.23

$0.31 ¥2.07

625.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.89

$1.07 ¥7.17

610.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.64

$3.29 ¥21.99

125.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.37

$1.76 ¥11.79

-5.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$3.99

$1.12 ¥7.46

148.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.47

$0.68 ¥4.52

255.88%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.08

$1.63 ¥10.88

246.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.78

$15.17 ¥101

-22.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.83

$3.78 ¥25.26

155.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.00

$8.84 ¥59.1

89.48%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.83

$1.08 ¥7.22

276.85%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.66

$1.56 ¥10.46

108.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.93

$1.50 ¥10.02

129.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.13

$1.23 ¥8.25

247.97%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.69

$0.58 ¥3.90

465.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.71 ¥4.73

223.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.65 ¥4.34

253.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.73

$0.55 ¥3.65

120.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.6

$4.37 ¥29.22

900.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.88

$8.08 ¥54.1

71.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.59

$0.75 ¥5.01

420.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.60

$1.48 ¥9.88

164.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.29 ¥1.94

948.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$16.07 ¥107

834.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.84

$1.77 ¥11.81

90.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.23

$0.37 ¥2.49

321.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.3

$7.15 ¥47.80

459.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.00

$1.27 ¥8.51

10.24%

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

$29.1K A$41.7K

$19.1K ¥127.4K

52.82%

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

$30.1K A$43.2K

$18.2K ¥121.9K

65.36%

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

$223 A$319

$52.0 ¥347

328.49%

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

$27.16 A$38.91

$6.82 ¥45.58

298.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.0

$8.09 ¥54.1

589.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$37.80 ¥253

97.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.37

$13.94 ¥93.2

72.09%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.16

$7.74 ¥51.8

126.87%

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

$2,196 A$3,146

$418 ¥2,798

424.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.4K

$15.6K ¥104.5K

80.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$62.2 ¥416

26.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.0

$27.26 ¥182

151.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$61.0 ¥408

82.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$51.5 ¥345

160.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,582

$286 ¥1,915

772.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,449

$163 ¥1,087

951.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,085

$716 ¥4,788

590.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,329

$368 ¥2,458

722.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$3,840 ¥25.7K

242.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$1,738 ¥11.6K

381.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,893

$690 ¥4,615

496.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.18

83.65%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Quzhou: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Quzhou

$163 23.9% 90.5% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Quzhou

$191 28.1% 49.5% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Quzhou

$67 9.9% 78.1% $239

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Quzhou

$93 13.8% 68.7% $205

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Quzhou

$91 13.4% 48.5% $86

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Quzhou

$21 3.1% 88% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Quzhou

$53 7.9% 51.4% $56

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,500 in Sydney versus $286 in Quzhou. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 496% higher in Sydney, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91.0 in Sydney versus $30.00 in Quzhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $191 – making Quzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Quzhou

🕒 Local time

16:13 4:13 PM

13:13 1:13 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

2,122,661

💱 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Quzhou 7,770 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

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Quzhou

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 Quzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sydney is pricier by about 364%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,728 per month in Sydney and $1,018 in Quzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Quzhou, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 835% less in Quzhou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,196 per month in Sydney and $418 in Quzhou. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Quzhou, where all-in costs run around $679, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Quzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Quzhou – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Quzhou. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sydney makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.