Cost of Living Comparison Between Ballarat and Melbourne Cost of Living Comparison Between Ballarat and Melbourne

🙂 Solo nomad: Ballarat is 9.8% cheaper than Melbourne without rent, and 29.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Ballarat is 20.5% cheaper than Melbourne without rent, and 22.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.19 A$21.74

$19.2 A$29.41

-26.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.8 A$97.7

$78.6 A$120

-18.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.03 A$15.37

$10.02 A$15.35

0.10%

Cappuccino

$3.63 A$5.57

$3.67 A$5.62

-1.09%

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

$2.61 A$4

$2.54 A$3.89

2.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 A$3.24

$2.28 A$3.49

-7.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6 A$9.19

$7.28 A$11.15

-17.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.84 A$10.48

$7.3 A$11.18

-6.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 A$2.22

$1.44 A$2.2

0.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 A$3.99

$2.63 A$4.02

-0.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 A$2.35

$2.27 A$3.48

-32.60%

Eggs

$4.18 A$6.4

$4.86 A$7.45

-13.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 A$13.9

$8.74 A$13.39

3.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 A$13.99

$9.19 A$14.07

-0.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.85 A$22.75

$14.95 A$22.9

-0.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 A$5.01

$3.33 A$5.1

-1.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.8 A$4.28

$2.84 A$4.35

-1.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 A$4.37

$3 A$4.6

-5.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 A$5.7

$3.95 A$6.05

-5.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.79 A$4.27

$2.67 A$4.09

4.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.27 A$3.48

$2.34 A$3.58

-2.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.2 A$3.37

$2.15 A$3.3

2.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1 A$1.53

$1.64 A$2.5

-39.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$30.81 A$47.21

$32.11 A$49.19

-4.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.4 A$20.52

$13.13 A$20.11

2.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 A$3.26

$4.54 A$6.96

-53.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 A$4.38

$5.05 A$7.74

-43.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.7 A$2.61

$3.67 A$5.62

-53.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.7 A$101

$118 A$180

-44.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.35 A$3.61

$3.65 A$5.6

-35.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.16 A$1.77

$1.34 A$2.05

-13.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.06 A$38.39

$27.26 A$41.77

-8.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 A$1.71

$1.19 A$1.82

-5.88%

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

$27.8K A$42.6K

$28.6K A$43.9K

-2.98%

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

$22.9K A$35.1K

$23.5K A$36K

-2.46%

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

$149 A$228

$150 A$230

-0.88%

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

$21.35 A$32.71

$20.8 A$31.86

2.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.96 A$76.5

$51 A$78.2

-2.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.61 A$48.43

$48.23 A$73.9

-34.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.54 A$23.8

$15.91 A$24.38

-2.33%

Cinema Ticket

$11.21 A$17.18

$16.53 A$25.32

-32.18%

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

$327 A$501

$1,730 A$2,651

-81.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.1K A$29.3K

-0.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.6 A$98.9

$67.8 A$104

-4.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53 A$81.3

$53.7 A$82.2

-1.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.8 A$133

$108 A$165

-19.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.6 A$142

$106 A$162

-12.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$839 A$1,285

$1,548 A$2,371

-45.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 A$949

$1,228 A$1,881

-49.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,007 A$3,075

$2,973 A$4,555

-32.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,389 A$2,128

$1,956 A$2,997

-28.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,443 A$6,807

$7,110 A$10.9K

-37.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,312 A$5,074

$5,790 A$8,871

-42.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,169 A$4,855

$4,045 A$6,198

-21.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.07

6.19

-1.94%

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

Last update for Ballarat: October 27, 2025

Last update for Melbourne: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

Madrid

🇪🇸 Spain

Rome

🇮🇹 Italy

Brisbane

🇦🇺 Australia

Thessaloniki

🇬🇷 Greece

Tokyo

🇯🇵 Japan

Abu Dhabi

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates