Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Yantai

For one person, living is cheaper in Yantai: $629 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 Yantai
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Yantai Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Yantai

🇨🇳 China

$629

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Yantai

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $629 in Yantai, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Yantai $629

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $926 in Yantai, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Yantai $926

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $1,223 in Yantai, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Yantai $1,223

Sydney costs about 401% more than Yantai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$2.92 ¥19.55

501.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$18.14 ¥121

404.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$4.58 ¥30.65

161.14%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.81 ¥18.78

44.84%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.54 ¥3.58

427.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.32 ¥2.15

603.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.05 ¥7.01

623.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$2.60 ¥17.39

185.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.96 ¥13.11

-15.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.35 ¥9.01

105.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.83 ¥5.58

191.57%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.35 ¥9.02

317.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$16.32 ¥109

-28.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$3.28 ¥21.94

194.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$6.89 ¥46.04

143.11%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.37 ¥9.19

197.08%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$0.89 ¥5.98

265.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$1.07 ¥7.16

221.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$0.74 ¥4.92

478.38%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$0.67 ¥4.49

389.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$0.78 ¥5.24

194.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.58 ¥3.91

296.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.63 ¥4.19

92.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$3.65 ¥24.39

1097.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$11.68 ¥78.1

18.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.78 ¥5.25

400.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.03 ¥6.88

279.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.21 ¥1.40

1347.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$1.36 ¥9.11

148.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.29 ¥1.92

437.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$6.48 ¥43.30

517.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.23 ¥8.20

13.82%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$19.3K ¥129.0K

50.94%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$16.4K ¥109.8K

83.54%

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

$223 A$320

$44.64 ¥298

398.66%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$6.79 ¥45.37

300.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$6.09 ¥40.75

816.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$29.60 ¥198

152.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$7.43 ¥49.69

222.88%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$5.44 ¥36.37

222.79%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$363 ¥2,426

505.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$16.6K ¥111.2K

69.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$17.97 ¥120

336.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$22.78 ¥152

200.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$93.7 ¥626

18.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$90.2 ¥603

48.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$223 ¥1,490

1021.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$151 ¥1,010

1031.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$353 ¥2,358

1302.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$147 ¥982

1956.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$3,056 ¥20.4K

330.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$5,096 ¥34.1K

64.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$1,063 ¥7,107

286.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.37

73.29%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Yantai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Yantai

$151 24% 91.2% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Yantai

$191 30.3% 49.6% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Yantai

$58 9.1% 81.2% $248

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Yantai

$85 13.5% 71.6% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Yantai

$101 16.1% 42.8% $76

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Yantai

$3.6 * 0.6% 97.9% $170

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Yantai

$40 6.4% 63.1% $69

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 $223 in Yantai. 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 $18.00 in Yantai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $191 – making Yantai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Yantai

🕒 Local time

06:29 6:29 AM

03:29 3:29 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

1,871,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Sydney Yantai 8,510 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Yantai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,152 in Sydney, $629 in Yantai – roughly 401% 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 $944 in Yantai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Yantai, 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 $629 in Yantai. That's a gap of about 401%.

Kindergarten costs $2,196 per month in Sydney and $363 in Yantai. 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 Yantai, where all-in costs run around $629, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Yantai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Yantai – 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 Yantai. 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.