Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Tianjin

For one person, living is cheaper in Tianjin: $885 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $27,600 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Tianjin
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Tianjin Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Tianjin

🇨🇳 China

$885

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Tianjin

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

A single person spends $3,182 per month in Sydney vs $885 in Tianjin, rent included.

Sydney $3,182
Tianjin $885

A couple spends around $4,696 per month in Sydney vs $1,352 in Tianjin, rent included.

Sydney $4,696
Tianjin $1,352

A family of three spends $6,210 per month in Sydney vs $1,820 in Tianjin, rent included.

Sydney $6,210
Tianjin $1,820

Sydney costs about 260% more than Tianjin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 137% above the global median, while Tianjin is 34% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$4.11 ¥27.46

329.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$24.08 ¥161

303.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$6.09 ¥40.69

96.06%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$4.09 ¥27.32

-2.20%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$0.47 ¥3.12

504.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.28 ¥1.88

710.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$0.93 ¥6.21

748.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$1.76 ¥11.79

305.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.47 ¥9.81

12.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$2.24 ¥14.99

24.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$1.66 ¥11.07

39.76%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$1.31 ¥8.76

322.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$15.11 ¥101

-20.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$3.68 ¥24.57

167.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$9.81 ¥65.5

69.32%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$1.61 ¥10.78

149.69%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$1.59 ¥10.61

98.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$1.73 ¥11.55

102.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$1.18 ¥7.87

278.81%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$0.90 ¥6.03

268.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.18 ¥7.87

94.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$0.67 ¥4.49

249.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.69 ¥4.64

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$5.23 ¥34.98

760.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$13.58 ¥90.8

2.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.01 ¥6.75

294.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$2.52 ¥16.81

61.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

$0.29 ¥1.93

989.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$8.97 ¥59.9

1571.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$1.62 ¥10.84

112.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.36 ¥2.40

352.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$6.22 ¥41.56

542.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.24 ¥8.26

12.90%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

$19.5K ¥130.0K

46.08%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$17.6K ¥117.5K

67.21%

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

$220 A$315

$92.9 ¥621

136.59%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$6.36 ¥42.51

335.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$7.34 ¥49.08

656.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

$16.57 ¥111

348.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

$10.50 ¥70.2

128.10%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$7.57 ¥50.6

134.21%

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$638 ¥4,262

238.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$54.5 ¥364

43.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$29.27 ¥196

140.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$110 ¥735

1.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$140 ¥938

-6.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

$337 ¥2,254

645.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

$246 ¥1,641

605.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

$641 ¥4,284

662.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

$454 ¥3,032

569.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$5,339 ¥35.7K

147.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

$2,335 ¥15.6K

247.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

$1,164 ¥7,776

250.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.54

64.97%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Tianjin: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Tianjin

$246 27.8% 85.8% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Tianjin

$226 25.5% 40.6% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Tianjin

$107 12.1% 64.8% $196

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Tianjin

$111 12.6% 62.8% $188

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Tianjin

$150 17% 14.8% $26

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Tianjin

$14 1.5% 92.2% $161

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Tianjin

$32 3.6% 71.1% $78

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,514 in Sydney versus $337 in Tianjin. 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 251% 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 $97.0 in Sydney versus $24.00 in Tianjin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $380 vs $226 – making Tianjin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Tianjin

🕒 Local time

18:04 6:04 PM

15:04 3:04 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

13,866,009

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Sydney Tianjin 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Tianjin

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 Tianjin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,182 in Sydney, $885 in Tianjin – roughly 260% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,774 per month in Sydney and $1,327 in Tianjin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $97.0 in Sydney and $24.00 in Tianjin. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,182 in Sydney and $885 in Tianjin. That's a gap of about 260%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Tianjin, where all-in costs run around $885, than in Sydney at $3,182. In Tianjin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Tianjin – 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 Tianjin. 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.