Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yiwu and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Yiwu: $550 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $27,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in Yiwu
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Yiwu Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Yiwu

🇨🇳 China

$550

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Yiwu 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 Yiwu and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $550 in Yiwu versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Yiwu $550
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,286 in Yiwu versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Yiwu $1,286
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,022 in Yiwu versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Yiwu $2,022
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Yiwu costs roughly 81% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Yiwu is 59% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.92 ¥19.54

$17.43 A$24.97

-83.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.38 ¥196

$84.6 A$121

-65.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.13 ¥34.31

$12.46 A$17.85

-58.83%

Cappuccino

$3.29 ¥22.01

$4.11 A$5.88

-19.95%

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

$0.62 ¥4.15

$3.06 A$4.38

-79.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 ¥2.55

$2.52 A$3.61

-84.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ¥8.19

$9.80 A$14.04

-87.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 ¥15.22

$8.57 A$12.28

-73.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 ¥12.40

$1.48 A$2.13

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 ¥13.09

$2.94 A$4.22

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.58

$2.66 A$3.80

-63.16%

Eggs

$1.68 ¥11.26

$5.54 A$7.94

-69.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.54 ¥117

$10.51 A$15.06

66.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.35 ¥22.38

$9.65 A$13.82

-65.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.14 ¥87.9

$15.22 A$21.81

-13.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 ¥14.29

$3.99 A$5.72

-46.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 ¥11.68

$3.02 A$4.32

-42.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 ¥13.05

$3.10 A$4.44

-37.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.08

$4.82 A$6.90

-65.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 ¥5.51

$3.03 A$4.34

-72.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.28

$2.44 A$3.50

-61.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 ¥4.17

$2.46 A$3.53

-74.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.96

$1.63 A$2.33

-63.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 ¥25.10

$44.07 A$63.1

-91.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.78 ¥72.1

$12.70 A$18.20

-15.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥5.56

$5.54 A$7.93

-85.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.67

$5.23 A$7.49

-69.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 ¥2.90

$3.74 A$5.36

-88.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$197

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 ¥8.73

$4.51 A$6.47

-71.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.89

$1.36 A$1.95

-68.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.89 ¥59.4

$30.45 A$43.62

-70.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ¥8.49

$1.47 A$2.11

-13.61%

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

$19.6K ¥130.9K

$29.0K A$41.5K

-32.53%

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

$18.6K ¥124.3K

$26.5K A$37.9K

-29.80%

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

$57.4 ¥384

$234 A$335

-75.43%

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

$8.10 ¥54.2

$27.93 A$40.01

-71.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.41 ¥69.6

$55.7 A$79.9

-81.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.73 ¥98.5

$49.40 A$70.8

-70.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.34 ¥75.8

$21.48 A$30.77

-47.21%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 ¥48.25

$15.09 A$21.62

-52.15%

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

$1,430 ¥9,566

$2,371 A$3,397

-39.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.3K ¥182.5K

$30.2K A$43.3K

-9.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ¥361

$80.0 A$115

-32.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.73 ¥252

$50.7 A$72.6

-25.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.8 ¥514

$121 A$173

-36.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 ¥491

$130 A$187

-43.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$446 ¥2,985

$1,759 A$2,520

-74.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$1,991

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 ¥7,041

$3,494 A$5,005

-69.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$733 ¥4,901

$2,493 A$3,572

-70.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.8K ¥78.7K

$6,926 A$9,922

69.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,921 ¥19.5K

$6,445 A$9,233

-54.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$748 ¥5,000

$4,383 A$6,279

-82.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

5.9

-43.05%

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

Last update for Yiwu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Yiwu

$238 43.2%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 61.6% $146

Clothing & Footwear

Yiwu

$109 19.8%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 57.8% $63

Eating Out

Yiwu

$93 16.9%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 238% $222

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yiwu

$76 13.8%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 318% $241

Sport & Entertainment

Yiwu

$29 5.3%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 173% $50

Getting Around

Yiwu

$5.2 * 1%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 3050% $159

Accommodation & Living

Yiwu

- * 0%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $446 in Yiwu and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 486% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $29.00 in Yiwu vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $238 vs $384 per month, with Yiwu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Yiwu

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

17:30 5:30 PM

3 h ahead of Yiwu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,234,015

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

Yiwu Melbourne 7,900 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Yiwu
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

Yiwu vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yiwu and Melbourne differ by about 413% in total monthly costs ($550 vs $2,821 including rent). Yiwu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 486% lower in Melbourne. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $446 in Yiwu versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $550 per month in Yiwu versus $2,821 in Melbourne – a 413% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $550 in Yiwu versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yiwu but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Yiwu 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, Yiwu 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 Yiwu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 413% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.