Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brighton and Melbourne

For one person, living costs are similar in Brighton and in Melbourne: $2,942 and $2,821 a month, rent and utilities included.

142

Cost of Living Index in Brighton
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Brighton Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Brighton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,942

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,942 in Brighton versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Brighton $2,942
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,181 in Brighton versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Brighton $4,181
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,419 in Brighton versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Brighton $5,419
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Brighton is roughly 4% more expensive than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Brighton 118% above, Melbourne 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.55 £19.17

$17.43 A$25.08

46.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$95.3 £71.5

$84.6 A$122

12.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.69 £7.27

$12.46 A$17.92

-22.23%

Cappuccino

$5.23 £3.92

$4.11 A$5.91

27.25%

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

$3.95 £2.96

$3.06 A$4.40

29.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.52 A$3.62

30.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.92 £6.69

$9.80 A$14.10

-8.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.31 £6.99

$8.57 A$12.33

8.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.48 A$2.14

30.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.94 A$4.23

-30.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 £1.57

$2.66 A$3.82

-21.43%

Eggs

$4.35 £3.27

$5.54 A$7.97

-21.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.72 £8.79

$10.51 A$15.13

11.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.17 £6.88

$9.65 A$13.89

-4.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.93 £11.20

$15.22 A$21.91

-1.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 £2.26

$3.99 A$5.75

-24.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 £1.44

$3.02 A$4.34

-36.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 £2.23

$3.10 A$4.46

-4.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.64 £2.73

$4.82 A$6.93

-24.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 £1.58

$3.03 A$4.36

-30.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 £1.36

$2.44 A$3.52

-25.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.88

$2.46 A$3.54

-52.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.63 A$2.34

4.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.81 £17.86

$44.07 A$63.4

-45.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 £8.36

$12.70 A$18.28

-12.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.01 £2.26

$5.54 A$7.97

-45.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 £2.35

$5.23 A$7.52

-40.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.98 £2.98

$3.74 A$5.38

6.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$127 £95.4

$138 A$198

-7.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.05 £3.79

$4.51 A$6.50

11.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 £2.01

$1.36 A$1.96

97.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.01 £29.26

$30.45 A$43.81

28.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.61

$1.47 A$2.12

46.26%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$29.0K A$41.7K

32.13%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$26.5K A$38.1K

50.48%

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

$286 £214

$234 A$336

22.30%

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

$16.41 £12.31

$27.93 A$40.19

-41.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.94 £33.72

$55.7 A$80.2

-19.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 £38.27

$49.40 A$71.1

3.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.55 £20.67

$21.48 A$30.91

28.26%

Cinema Ticket

$17.57 £13.18

$15.09 A$21.72

16.43%

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

$2,053 £1,540

$2,371 A$3,412

-13.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.8K £22.4K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-1.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.5 £67.1

$80.0 A$115

11.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.65 £33.50

$50.7 A$73.0

-11.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.7

$121 A$174

-14.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 £66.1

$130 A$188

-32.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,895 £1,421

$1,759 A$2,531

7.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,486 £1,115

$1,390 A$2,000

6.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,863 £2,148

$3,494 A$5,027

-18.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,185 £1,639

$2,493 A$3,588

-12.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,414 £6,312

$6,926 A$9,967

21.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,196 £4,648

$6,445 A$9,274

-3.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,403 £2,553

$4,383 A$6,307

-22.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

5.9

-13.22%

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

Last update for Brighton: October 13, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brighton

$1.5K 50.5%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 6.5% $96

Eating Out

Brighton

$388 13.2%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 19% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brighton

$347 11.8%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 8.6% $30

Groceries & Markets

Brighton

$327 11.1%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 17.5% $57

Getting Around

Brighton

$161 5.5%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 1.4% $2.3

Clothing & Footwear

Brighton

$147 5%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 17.2% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Brighton

$86 2.9%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 7.6% $6.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,895 in Brighton and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 29% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $95.0 in Brighton vs $85.0 in Melbourne. Groceries flip the comparison at $327 vs $384, with Brighton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Brighton

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

09:07 9:07 AM

19:07 7:07 PM

10 h ahead of Brighton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

256,000

5,031,195

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Brighton Melbourne 16,920 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Brighton
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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

Brighton vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brighton and Melbourne differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($2,942 vs $2,821 including rent). Melbourne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% 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: $1,895 in Brighton versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,053 in Brighton versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Brighton pay roughly 18% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Melbourne is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Brighton 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 Melbourne gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Brighton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.