Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Wenzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Wenzhou: $628 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $30,300 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Wenzhou
Learn more

Wenzhou Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Wenzhou

🇨🇳 China

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Wenzhou

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $628 in Wenzhou, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Wenzhou $628

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $1,059 in Wenzhou, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Wenzhou $1,059

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $1,489 in Wenzhou, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Wenzhou $1,489

Sydney costs about 402% more than Wenzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 133% above the global median, while Wenzhou is 53% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.17

$3.01 ¥20.11

483.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$131

$30.38 ¥203

201.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.13

$7.66 ¥51.2

56.14%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.83

$2.65 ¥17.75

53.58%

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

$2.85 A$4.08

$0.52 ¥3.50

448.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.23

$0.30 ¥2.02

650.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.89

$0.86 ¥5.73

783.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.64

$3.03 ¥20.28

145.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.37

$2.08 ¥13.94

-20.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$3.99

$1.95 ¥13.01

42.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.47

$1.31 ¥8.78

84.73%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.08

$1.98 ¥13.22

184.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.78

$7.61 ¥50.9

53.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.83

$2.18 ¥14.61

343.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.00

$9.49 ¥63.5

76.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.83

$1.90 ¥12.74

114.21%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.66

$1.79 ¥11.95

81.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.93

$1.69 ¥11.32

103.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.13

$1.12 ¥7.46

282.14%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.69

$0.61 ¥4.09

437.70%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.72 ¥4.81

219.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.47 ¥3.12

389.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.73

$0.59 ¥3.95

105.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.6

$3.37 ¥22.57

1197.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.88

$13.24 ¥88.5

4.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.59

$1.22 ¥8.16

219.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.60

$1.23 ¥8.21

217.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.29 ¥1.91

948.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.84

$1.68 ¥11.26

101.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.23

$0.35 ¥2.35

345.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.3

$7.75 ¥51.8

416.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.00

$1.26 ¥8.46

11.11%

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

$29.1K A$41.7K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

49.32%

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

$30.1K A$43.2K

$15.5K ¥103.9K

93.84%

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

$223 A$319

$29.91 ¥200

644.23%

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

$27.16 A$38.91

$6.60 ¥44.12

311.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.0

$8.89 ¥59.4

527.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$13.62 ¥91.1

447.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.37

$26.79 ¥179

-10.45%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.16

$7.60 ¥50.8

131.05%

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

$2,196 A$3,146

$1,247 ¥8,342

76.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.4K

$9,703 ¥64.9K

190.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$43.55 ¥291

80.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.0

$18.78 ¥126

264.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$96.5 ¥645

15.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$44.71 ¥299

200.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,582

$240 ¥1,603

942.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,449

$170 ¥1,135

907.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,085

$632 ¥4,229

682.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,329

$363 ¥2,428

732.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$4,065 ¥27.2K

223.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$2,598 ¥17.4K

222.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,893

$868 ¥5,804

373.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.46

68.79%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Wenzhou: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Wenzhou

$170 27% 90.1% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Wenzhou

$196 31.1% 48.3% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Wenzhou

$45 7.2% 85.1% $260

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Wenzhou

$93 14.7% 69% $206

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Wenzhou

$92 14.6% 48.1% $85

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Wenzhou

$4.6 * 0.7% 97.4% $169

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Wenzhou

$29 4.6% 73.7% $81

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 $240 in Wenzhou. 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 374% 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 Wenzhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $196 – making Wenzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Wenzhou

🕒 Local time

20:31 8:31 PM

17:31 5:31 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

9,300,000

💱 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 Wenzhou 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Wenzhou

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 Wenzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,152 in Sydney, $628 in Wenzhou – roughly 402% 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 $942 in Wenzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,152 in Sydney and $628 in Wenzhou. That's a gap of about 402%.

Kindergarten costs $2,196 per month in Sydney and $1,247 in Wenzhou. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Wenzhou, where all-in costs run around $628, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Wenzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Wenzhou – 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 Wenzhou. 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.