Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taizhou and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Taizhou: $774 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Taizhou
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Taizhou Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Taizhou

🇨🇳 China

$774

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taizhou and in Melbourne

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Taizhou and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $774 in Taizhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Taizhou $774
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,257 in Taizhou versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Taizhou $1,257
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,740 in Taizhou versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Taizhou $1,740
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Taizhou costs roughly 73% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taizhou is 43% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.65 ¥24.42

$17.43 A$24.97

-79.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.57 ¥171

$84.6 A$121

-69.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.51 ¥30.17

$12.46 A$17.85

-63.80%

Cappuccino

$3.47 ¥23.23

$4.11 A$5.88

-15.57%

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

$0.54 ¥3.59

$3.06 A$4.38

-82.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$2.52 A$3.61

-88.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.24

$9.80 A$14.04

-87.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 ¥14.78

$8.57 A$12.28

-74.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 ¥12.18

$1.48 A$2.13

22.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 ¥10.82

$2.94 A$4.22

-44.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.54 ¥3.59

$2.66 A$3.80

-79.70%

Eggs

$1.23 ¥8.26

$5.54 A$7.94

-77.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.41 ¥130

$10.51 A$15.06

84.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.81 ¥25.50

$9.65 A$13.82

-60.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.27 ¥68.7

$15.22 A$21.81

-32.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 ¥8.00

$3.99 A$5.72

-69.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 ¥9.03

$3.02 A$4.32

-55.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ¥9.73

$3.10 A$4.44

-53.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.55 ¥10.37

$4.82 A$6.90

-67.84%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.40

$3.03 A$4.34

-73.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.51

$2.44 A$3.50

-60.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 ¥4.52

$2.46 A$3.53

-72.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.65

$1.63 A$2.33

-66.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 ¥27.00

$44.07 A$63.1

-90.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.26 ¥88.7

$12.70 A$18.20

4.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 ¥2.92

$5.54 A$7.93

-92.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ¥11.60

$5.23 A$7.49

-66.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$3.74 A$5.36

-91.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.77 ¥132

$138 A$197

-85.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ¥7.89

$4.51 A$6.47

-73.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ¥2.38

$1.36 A$1.95

-73.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.35 ¥49.16

$30.45 A$43.62

-75.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ¥8.50

$1.47 A$2.11

-13.61%

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

$19.4K ¥129.9K

$29.0K A$41.5K

-33.03%

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

$16.3K ¥108.7K

$26.5K A$37.9K

-38.61%

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

$48.17 ¥322

$234 A$335

-79.39%

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

$8.88 ¥59.4

$27.93 A$40.01

-68.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.36 ¥76.0

$55.7 A$79.9

-79.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.64 ¥285

$49.40 A$70.8

-13.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.36 ¥109

$21.48 A$30.77

-23.84%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 ¥50.7

$15.09 A$21.62

-49.83%

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

$574 ¥3,841

$2,371 A$3,397

-75.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.7K ¥245.3K

$30.2K A$43.3K

21.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.68 ¥219

$80.0 A$115

-59.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.93 ¥280

$50.7 A$72.6

-17.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.0 ¥575

$121 A$173

-28.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 ¥730

$130 A$187

-16.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$297 ¥1,983

$1,759 A$2,520

-83.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$181 ¥1,209

$1,390 A$1,991

-86.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$699 ¥4,675

$3,494 A$5,005

-79.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$377 ¥2,519

$2,493 A$3,572

-84.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,544 ¥23.7K

$6,926 A$9,922

-48.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,971 ¥13.2K

$6,445 A$9,233

-69.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,279

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

5.9

-40.68%

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

Last update for Taizhou: October 11, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Taizhou

$223 28.8%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 72.2% $161

Accommodation & Living

Taizhou

$181 23.4%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 669% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Taizhou

$121 15.7%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 41.5% $50

Eating Out

Taizhou

$98 12.7%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 220% $216

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taizhou

$68 8.8%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 364% $249

Sport & Entertainment

Taizhou

$58 7.5%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 37.7% $22

Getting Around

Taizhou

$24 3.1%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 583% $140

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $297 in Taizhou and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $26.00 in Taizhou vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $384 per month, with Taizhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Taizhou

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

13:31 1:31 PM

16:31 4:31 PM

3 h ahead of Taizhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

615,000

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

1 AUD = 0.698 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

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).

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).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taizhou Melbourne 7,790 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Taizhou
Melbourne

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

Taizhou vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taizhou and Melbourne differ by about 265% in total monthly costs ($774 vs $2,821 including rent). Taizhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,161 in Taizhou and $4,231 in Melbourne to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $297 in Taizhou versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $574 in Taizhou versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $774 in Taizhou versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taizhou but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Taizhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Taizhou and Melbourne are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Taizhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 265% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.