Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Sydney Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairns and Sydney

🙂 Solo nomad: Cairns is 6.2% cheaper than Sydney without rent, and 17.7% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cairns is 5.2% more expensive than Sydney without rent, and 18.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.67 A$17.88

$16.02 A$24.54

-27.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 A$125

$77.1 A$118

6.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 A$16.33

$9.6 A$14.7

11.04%

Cappuccino

$3.92 A$6.01

$3.33 A$5.11

17.72%

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

$2.73 A$4.19

$2.5 A$3.83

9.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 A$3.46

$2 A$3.06

13.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.58 A$10.09

$6.33 A$9.69

3.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.07 A$10.83

$7.09 A$10.86

-0.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.7 A$2.61

$1.69 A$2.59

0.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.51 A$3.85

$2.7 A$4.13

-7.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 A$4.15

$2.34 A$3.59

15.81%

Eggs

$3.93 A$6.02

$5.05 A$7.74

-22.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.87 A$12.06

$8.65 A$13.25

-9.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.19 A$14.08

$8.45 A$12.95

8.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.84 A$19.67

$13.8 A$21.14

-6.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 A$4.58

$3.18 A$4.88

-5.97%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 A$3.53

$2.67 A$4.09

-13.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.66 A$4.07

$3.13 A$4.8

-15.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.39 A$11.32

$4.36 A$6.67

69.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.28 A$3.5

$2.56 A$3.92

-10.94%

Onion (1kg)

$2.23 A$3.42

$2.36 A$3.62

-5.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.27 A$3.47

$2.16 A$3.31

5.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 A$4.42

$1.24 A$1.91

132.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$29.83 A$45.69

$31.93 A$48.92

-6.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 A$16.89

$13.43 A$20.58

-17.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.39 A$5.2

$4.8 A$7.35

-29.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 A$5.39

$5.26 A$8.06

-33.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.22 A$4.94

$3.19 A$4.88

0.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.4 A$100

$139 A$212

-52.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.44 A$9.86

$3.79 A$5.81

69.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.13 A$4.8

$2.96 A$4.54

5.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.86 A$51.9

$51.4 A$78.7

-34.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 A$1.77

$1.2 A$1.84

-4.17%

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

$22.7K A$34.8K

$29.3K A$44.9K

-22.49%

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

$19.2K A$29.4K

$22.2K A$34K

-13.67%

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

$153 A$234

$201 A$308

-23.96%

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

$37.09 A$56.8

$23.73 A$36.35

56.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59 A$90.3

$53.1 A$81.3

11.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.89 A$59.6

$61.5 A$94.2

-36.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.92 A$24.39

$20.64 A$31.62

-22.87%

Cinema Ticket

$12.98 A$19.88

$15.47 A$23.7

-16.10%

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

$1,628 A$2,494

$2,109 A$3,231

-22.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K A$18.5K

$18.8K A$28.8K

-35.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83 A$127

$74.8 A$115

10.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.2 A$101

$58.4 A$89.5

13.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.2 A$150

$107 A$165

-8.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 A$206

$132 A$203

1.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 A$1,828

$2,205 A$3,378

-45.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 A$1,701

$1,462 A$2,239

-24.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,042 A$3,128

$4,389 A$6,724

-53.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,858 A$2,847

$2,669 A$4,090

-30.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,035 A$9,246

$12.7K A$19.5K

-52.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,795 A$7,346

$7,165 A$11K

-33.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,813 A$4,310

$3,965 A$6,074

-29.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.96

6.34

9.78%

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

Last update for Cairns: October 27, 2025

Last update for Sydney: October 28, 2025

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