Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Artem and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Artem: $1,095 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Artem
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Artem Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Artem

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,095

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,095 in Artem versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Artem $1,095
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,729 in Artem versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Artem $1,729
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,362 in Artem versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Artem $2,362
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Artem costs roughly 62% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Artem is 18% below, Melbourne is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.95 ₽1,017

$17.75 A$25.40

-32.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.43 ₽3,015

$84.8 A$121

-58.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.30 ₽536

$12.16 A$17.40

-48.19%

Cappuccino

$3.02 ₽257

$3.93 A$5.62

-23.16%

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

$1.04 ₽88.6

$3.14 A$4.49

-66.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 ₽58.5

$2.43 A$3.47

-71.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 ₽123

$9.90 A$14.17

-85.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ₽196

$8.29 A$11.86

-72.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 ₽143

$1.55 A$2.21

8.39%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 ₽56.0

$3.01 A$4.31

-78.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ₽137

$2.88 A$4.12

-44.10%

Eggs

$2.34 ₽199

$5.44 A$7.79

-56.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.16 ₽1,120

$10.59 A$15.16

24.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 ₽530

$9.61 A$13.76

-35.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.07 ₽942

$14.99 A$21.46

-26.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 ₽247

$4.15 A$5.94

-30.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 ₽177

$3.05 A$4.37

-31.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.69 ₽229

$3.30 A$4.72

-18.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.12 ₽351

$4.76 A$6.81

-13.45%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 ₽83.3

$3.04 A$4.34

-67.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 ₽87.7

$2.55 A$3.65

-59.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ₽110

$2.48 A$3.55

-47.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 ₽89.3

$1.63 A$2.33

-35.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.91 ₽248

$44.07 A$63.1

-93.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.61 ₽648

$12.43 A$17.79

-38.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 ₽98.6

$5.33 A$7.63

-78.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ₽196

$5.16 A$7.38

-55.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.56 ₽47.30

$3.84 A$5.50

-85.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.40 ₽204

$4.40 A$6.29

-45.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 ₽29.07

$1.40 A$2.01

-75.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.89 ₽501

$29.83 A$42.69

-80.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 ₽72.8

$1.46 A$2.09

-41.10%

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

$44.8K ₽3.8M

$28.1K A$40.3K

59.32%

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

$35.2K ₽3.0M

$25.9K A$37.1K

35.69%

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

$153 ₽13.0K

$233 A$333

-34.21%

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

$8.22 ₽699

$27.28 A$39.04

-69.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.21 ₽784

$57.0 A$81.6

-83.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.85 ₽3,221

$52.7 A$75.4

-28.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.31 ₽1,728

$22.62 A$32.37

-10.21%

Cinema Ticket

$5.34 ₽454

$17.10 A$24.48

-68.77%

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

$348 ₽29.6K

$2,373 A$3,397

-85.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,051 ₽514.9K

$30.5K A$43.6K

-80.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.1 ₽6,643

$78.2 A$112

-0.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.6 ₽4,389

$50.5 A$72.2

2.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.2 ₽8,270

$121 A$172

-19.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 ₽10.6K

$133 A$191

-6.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 ₽32.9K

$1,713 A$2,451

-77.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$312 ₽26.5K

$1,402 A$2,006

-77.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 ₽83.7K

$3,339 A$4,778

-70.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₽53.5K

$2,529 A$3,619

-75.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,160 ₽183.8K

$7,018 A$10.0K

-69.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,297 ₽110.3K

$6,767 A$9,685

-80.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

23.6

5.9

300.00%

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

Last update for Artem: October 4, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Artem

$312 28%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 350% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Artem

$250 22.4%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 54.3% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Artem

$170 15.3%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 85.9% $146

Eating Out

Artem

$170 15.2%

Melbourne

$314 11% 85.2% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Artem

$158 14.2%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 8.7% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Artem

$49 4.4%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 79% $38

Getting Around

Artem

$6.3 * 0.6%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 2559% $162

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 $387 in Artem and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Artem vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $385 per month, with Artem cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Artem

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

19:04 7:04 PM

20:04 8:04 PM

1 h ahead of Artem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

104,926

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.18 USD

100 RUB = 1.05 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 85.09 RUB (100 RUB = 1.18 USD). 1 EUR = 95.44 RUB (100 RUB = 1.05 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Artem Melbourne 9,120 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Artem
Melbourne

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Artem vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Artem wins on cost – living expenses run 160% lower than in Melbourne. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Artem the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,643 in Artem and $4,277 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: $387 in Artem versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $348 in Artem versus $2,373 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Artem – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,095 in Artem versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Artem but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Artem 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, Artem 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 Artem gentler on the wallet – expenses run 160% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.