Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Zhuhai

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhuhai: $787 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,400 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Zhuhai
Learn more

Zhuhai Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Zhuhai

🇨🇳 China

$787

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Zhuhai

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $787 in Zhuhai, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Zhuhai $787

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $1,310 in Zhuhai, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Zhuhai $1,310

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $1,833 in Zhuhai, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Zhuhai $1,833

Sydney costs about 301% more than Zhuhai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Sydney sits 133% above the global median, while Zhuhai is 42% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$2.74 ¥18.31

541.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$29.77 ¥199

207.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$5.28 ¥35.26

126.52%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$3.23 ¥21.58

26.01%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.47 ¥3.16

506.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.35 ¥2.36

542.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.21 ¥8.11

528.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$2.17 ¥14.46

242.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.60 ¥10.70

3.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.29 ¥8.59

115.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$1.10 ¥7.33

120.00%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.70 ¥11.38

231.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$4.23 ¥28.27

176.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$2.30 ¥15.34

320.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$3.85 ¥25.68

335.06%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.30 ¥8.67

213.08%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$0.59 ¥3.92

450.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$0.47 ¥3.15

631.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.49 ¥9.97

187.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$0.76 ¥5.08

331.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$0.46 ¥3.10

400.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.31 ¥2.10

641.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.43 ¥2.90

181.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$2.95 ¥19.68

1381.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$3.68 ¥24.57

277.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.61 ¥4.09

539.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.82 ¥12.14

114.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.13 ¥0.87

2238.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$9.07 ¥60.6

1556.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$1.48 ¥9.88

128.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.37 ¥2.49

321.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$7.23 ¥48.27

453.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.23 ¥8.23

13.82%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$15.5K ¥103.2K

88.46%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$13.7K ¥91.4K

120.13%

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

$223 A$320

$56.1 ¥375

296.86%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$9.88 ¥66.0

174.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$16.63 ¥111

235.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$81.8 ¥546

-8.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$31.35 ¥209

-23.48%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$7.58 ¥50.6

131.66%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$521 ¥3,480

321.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$23.9K ¥159.4K

18.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$29.35 ¥196

167.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$40.57 ¥271

68.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$71.8 ¥479

54.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$90.3 ¥603

48.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$436 ¥2,909

473.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$280 ¥1,873

509.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$905 ¥6,042

446.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$656 ¥4,377

361.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$4,597 ¥30.7K

186.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$2,882 ¥19.2K

190.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$1,045 ¥6,977

293.62%

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 Zhuhai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Zhuhai

$280 35.7% 83.6% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Zhuhai

$119 15.1% 68.6% $260

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Zhuhai

$83 10.5% 73% $223

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Zhuhai

$90 11.5% 69.8% $208

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Zhuhai

$104 13.3% 40.9% $72

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Zhuhai

$13 1.6% 92.5% $161

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Zhuhai

$97 12.3% 11.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,500 in Sydney versus $436 in Zhuhai. 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 294% 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 Zhuhai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $119 – making Zhuhai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇨🇳 Zhuhai

🕒 Local time

21:17 9:17 PM

18:17 6:17 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

2,207,090

💱 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 = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Sydney Zhuhai 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Zhuhai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,152 in Sydney, $787 in Zhuhai – roughly 301% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,728 per month in Sydney and $1,180 in Zhuhai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zhuhai, 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 $91.0 in Sydney and $30.00 in Zhuhai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,152 in Sydney and $787 in Zhuhai. That's a gap of about 301%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zhuhai, where all-in costs run around $787, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Zhuhai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zhuhai – 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 Zhuhai. 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.