Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Shantou

For one person, living is cheaper in Shantou: $692 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,500 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 Shantou
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Shantou Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Shantou

🇨🇳 China

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Shantou

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $692 in Shantou, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Shantou $692

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $1,104 in Shantou, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Shantou $1,104

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $1,516 in Shantou, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Shantou $1,516

Sydney costs about 355% more than Shantou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 133% above the global median, while Shantou is 49% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.17

$2.29 ¥15.35

667.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$131

$23.70 ¥158

285.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.13

$5.17 ¥34.59

131.33%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.83

$3.38 ¥22.63

20.41%

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

$2.85 A$4.08

$0.47 ¥3.12

506.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.23

$0.31 ¥2.05

625.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.89

$0.88 ¥5.92

763.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.64

$2.13 ¥14.28

248.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.37

$1.60 ¥10.71

3.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$3.99

$1.45 ¥9.73

91.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.47

$0.77 ¥5.18

214.29%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.08

$1.69 ¥11.33

233.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.78

$13.63 ¥91.1

-14.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.83

$3.43 ¥22.91

181.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.00

$13.16 ¥88.0

27.28%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.83

$1.95 ¥13.03

108.72%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.66

$1.50 ¥10.05

116.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.93

$1.81 ¥12.14

90.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.13

$1.30 ¥8.70

229.23%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.69

$0.82 ¥5.49

300.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.29

$1.06 ¥7.11

116.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.59 ¥3.96

289.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.73

$0.43 ¥2.88

181.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.6

$3.69 ¥24.71

1084.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.88

$12.00 ¥80.2

15.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.59

$0.83 ¥5.57

369.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.60

$1.79 ¥11.98

118.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.36 ¥2.41

744.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$24.27 ¥162

518.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.84

$1.53 ¥10.24

120.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.23

$0.38 ¥2.56

310.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.3

$7.31 ¥48.86

447.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.00

$1.23 ¥8.25

13.82%

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

$29.1K A$41.7K

$19.8K ¥132.4K

47.13%

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

$30.1K A$43.2K

$18.0K ¥120.5K

67.21%

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

$223 A$319

$56.7 ¥379

292.87%

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

$27.16 A$38.91

$8.89 ¥59.5

205.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.0

$13.86 ¥92.7

302.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.37

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.16

$7.54 ¥50.5

132.89%

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

$2,196 A$3,146

$540 ¥3,614

306.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.4K

$24.2K ¥162.1K

16.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$55.6 ¥372

41.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.0

$39.70 ¥265

72.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$73.1 ¥489

52.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$91.4 ¥611

47.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,582

$298 ¥1,991

739.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,449

$151 ¥1,011

1030.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,085

$602 ¥4,027

721.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,329

$294 ¥1,969

926.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,278 ¥15.2K

477.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$4,469 ¥29.9K

87.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,893

$1,062 ¥7,099

287.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.35

74.33%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Shantou: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Shantou

$151 21.8% 91.2% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Shantou

$214 31% 43.4% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Shantou

$79 11.5% 74% $226

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Shantou

$86 12.5% 71.1% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Shantou

$117 16.9% 33.8% $60

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Shantou

$29 4.2% 83.2% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Shantou

$15 * 2.2% 86.2% $95

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,500 in Sydney versus $298 in Shantou. 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 287% 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 $24.00 in Shantou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $214 – making Shantou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Shantou

🕒 Local time

20:31 8:31 PM

17:31 5:31 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

5,389,328

💱 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 Shantou 7,340 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Shantou

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 Shantou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,152 in Sydney, $692 in Shantou – roughly 355% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,728 per month in Sydney and $1,038 in Shantou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 77% more in Sydney, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91.0 in Sydney and $24.00 in Shantou. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Shantou, where all-in costs run around $692, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Shantou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Shantou – 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 Shantou. 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.