Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Yiwu

For one person, living is cheaper in Yiwu: $550 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $31,200 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Yiwu
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Yiwu Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Yiwu

🇨🇳 China

$550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Yiwu

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $550 in Yiwu, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Yiwu $550

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $1,286 in Yiwu, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Yiwu $1,286

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $2,022 in Yiwu, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Yiwu $2,022

Sydney costs about 473% more than Yiwu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 133% above the global median, while Yiwu is 59% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.17

$2.92 ¥19.54

501.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$131

$29.38 ¥196

211.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.13

$5.13 ¥34.31

133.14%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.83

$3.29 ¥22.01

23.71%

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

$2.85 A$4.08

$0.62 ¥4.15

359.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.23

$0.38 ¥2.55

492.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.89

$1.22 ¥8.19

522.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.64

$2.28 ¥15.22

225.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.37

$1.85 ¥12.40

-10.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$3.99

$1.96 ¥13.09

41.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.47

$0.98 ¥6.58

146.94%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.08

$1.68 ¥11.26

235.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.78

$17.54 ¥117

-33.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.83

$3.35 ¥22.38

188.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.00

$13.14 ¥87.9

27.47%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.83

$2.14 ¥14.29

90.19%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.66

$1.75 ¥11.68

85.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.93

$1.95 ¥13.05

76.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.13

$1.66 ¥11.08

157.83%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.69

$0.82 ¥5.51

300.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.94 ¥6.28

144.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.29

$0.62 ¥4.17

270.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.73

$0.59 ¥3.96

105.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.6

$3.75 ¥25.10

1065.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.88

$10.78 ¥72.1

28.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.59

$0.83 ¥5.56

369.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.60

$1.60 ¥10.67

144.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.43 ¥2.90

606.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.84

$1.30 ¥8.73

160.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.23

$0.43 ¥2.89

262.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.3

$8.89 ¥59.4

350.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.00

$1.27 ¥8.49

10.24%

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

$29.1K A$41.7K

$19.6K ¥130.9K

48.84%

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

$30.1K A$43.2K

$18.6K ¥124.3K

62.12%

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

$223 A$319

$57.4 ¥384

287.67%

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

$27.16 A$38.91

$8.10 ¥54.2

235.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.0

$10.41 ¥69.6

436.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$14.73 ¥98.5

406.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.37

$11.34 ¥75.8

111.55%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.16

$7.22 ¥48.25

143.21%

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

$2,196 A$3,146

$1,430 ¥9,566

53.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.4K

$27.3K ¥182.5K

3.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$53.9 ¥361

45.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.0

$37.73 ¥252

81.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$76.8 ¥514

44.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$73.5 ¥491

83.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,582

$446 ¥2,985

460.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,449

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,085

$1,053 ¥7,041

369.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,329

$733 ¥4,901

312.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$11.8K ¥78.7K

11.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$2,921 ¥19.5K

186.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,893

$748 ¥5,000

450.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

3.36

73.81%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Yiwu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Yiwu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Yiwu

$238 43.2% 37.2% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Yiwu

$76 13.8% 75.2% $230

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Yiwu

$93 16.9% 68.9% $206

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Yiwu

$109 19.8% 38.4% $68

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Yiwu

$5.2 * 1% 97% $168

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Yiwu

$29 5.3% 73.4% $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 $446 in Yiwu. 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 450% 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 $29.00 in Yiwu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $238 – making Yiwu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Yiwu

🕒 Local time

22:07 10:07 PM

19:07 7:07 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

1,234,015

💱 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 Yiwu 7,750 km ≈ 10 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 Yiwu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,152 in Sydney, $550 in Yiwu – roughly 473% 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 $825 in Yiwu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Yiwu, 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 $550 in Yiwu. That's a gap of about 473%.

Kindergarten costs $2,196 per month in Sydney and $1,430 in Yiwu. 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 Yiwu, where all-in costs run around $550, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Yiwu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Yiwu – 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 Yiwu. 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.