Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Melbourne Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Melbourne

🙂 Solo nomad: Cairns is 6% cheaper than Melbourne without rent, and 5.1% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cairns is 7.3% more expensive than Melbourne without rent, and 4.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.67 A$17.88

$19.2 A$29.41

-39.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 A$125

$78.6 A$120

4.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 A$16.33

$10.02 A$15.35

6.39%

Cappuccino

$3.92 A$6.01

$3.67 A$5.62

6.81%

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

$2.73 A$4.19

$2.54 A$3.89

7.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 A$3.46

$2.28 A$3.49

-0.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.58 A$10.09

$7.28 A$11.15

-9.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.07 A$10.83

$7.3 A$11.18

-3.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.7 A$2.61

$1.44 A$2.2

18.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.51 A$3.85

$2.63 A$4.02

-4.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 A$4.15

$2.27 A$3.48

19.38%

Eggs

$3.93 A$6.02

$4.86 A$7.45

-19.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.87 A$12.06

$8.74 A$13.39

-9.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.19 A$14.08

$9.19 A$14.07

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.84 A$19.67

$14.95 A$22.9

-14.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 A$4.58

$3.33 A$5.1

-10.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 A$3.53

$2.84 A$4.35

-18.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.66 A$4.07

$3 A$4.6

-11.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.39 A$11.32

$3.95 A$6.05

87.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.28 A$3.5

$2.67 A$4.09

-14.61%

Onion (1kg)

$2.23 A$3.42

$2.34 A$3.58

-4.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.27 A$3.47

$2.15 A$3.3

5.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 A$4.42

$1.64 A$2.5

75.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$29.83 A$45.69

$32.11 A$49.19

-7.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 A$16.89

$13.13 A$20.11

-15.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.39 A$5.2

$4.54 A$6.96

-25.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 A$5.39

$5.05 A$7.74

-30.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.22 A$4.94

$3.67 A$5.62

-12.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.4 A$100

$118 A$180

-44.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.44 A$9.86

$3.65 A$5.6

76.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.13 A$4.8

$1.34 A$2.05

133.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.86 A$51.9

$27.26 A$41.77

24.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 A$1.77

$1.19 A$1.82

-3.36%

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

$22.7K A$34.8K

$28.6K A$43.9K

-20.73%

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

$19.2K A$29.4K

$23.5K A$36K

-18.38%

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

$153 A$234

$150 A$230

1.68%

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

$37.09 A$56.8

$20.8 A$31.86

78.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59 A$90.3

$51 A$78.2

15.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.89 A$59.6

$48.23 A$73.9

-19.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.92 A$24.39

$15.91 A$24.38

0.06%

Cinema Ticket

$12.98 A$19.88

$16.53 A$25.32

-21.48%

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

$1,628 A$2,494

$1,730 A$2,651

-5.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K A$18.5K

$19.1K A$29.3K

-36.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83 A$127

$67.8 A$104

22.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.2 A$101

$53.7 A$82.2

23.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.2 A$150

$108 A$165

-8.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 A$206

$106 A$162

27.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 A$1,828

$1,548 A$2,371

-22.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 A$1,701

$1,228 A$1,881

-9.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,042 A$3,128

$2,973 A$4,555

-31.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,858 A$2,847

$1,956 A$2,997

-5.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,035 A$9,246

$7,110 A$10.9K

-15.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,795 A$7,346

$5,790 A$8,871

-17.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,813 A$4,310

$4,045 A$6,198

-30.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.96

6.19

12.44%

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

Last update for Cairns: October 27, 2025

Last update for Melbourne: October 28, 2025

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