Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Darkhan and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Darkhan: $655 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Darkhan
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Darkhan Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Darkhan

🇲🇳 Mongolia

$655

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $655 in Darkhan versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Darkhan $655
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,075 in Darkhan versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Darkhan $1,075
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,496 in Darkhan versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Darkhan $1,496
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Darkhan costs roughly 77% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Darkhan is 51% below, Melbourne is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.46 MNT 19.6K

$17.75 A$25.40

-69.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.74 MNT 114.0K

$84.8 A$121

-62.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.62 MNT 20.2K

$12.16 A$17.40

-53.78%

Cappuccino

$2.39 MNT 8,575

$3.93 A$5.62

-39.19%

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

$0.87 MNT 3,140

$3.14 A$4.49

-72.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 MNT 2,065

$2.43 A$3.47

-76.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MNT 8,427

$9.90 A$14.17

-76.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 MNT 12.3K

$8.29 A$11.86

-58.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MNT 5,184

$1.55 A$2.21

-7.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 MNT 3,653

$3.01 A$4.31

-66.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 MNT 7,389

$2.88 A$4.12

-28.47%

Eggs

$2.16 MNT 7,750

$5.44 A$7.79

-60.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.46 MNT 44.8K

$10.59 A$15.16

17.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.87 MNT 17.5K

$9.61 A$13.76

-49.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.44 MNT 26.7K

$14.99 A$21.46

-50.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MNT 11.5K

$4.15 A$5.94

-22.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.39 MNT 8,592

$3.05 A$4.37

-21.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.84 MNT 13.8K

$3.30 A$4.72

16.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 MNT 11.0K

$4.76 A$6.81

-35.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 MNT 2,567

$3.04 A$4.34

-76.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 MNT 3,772

$2.55 A$3.65

-58.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 MNT 6,146

$2.48 A$3.55

-31.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 MNT 2,626

$1.63 A$2.33

-55.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.67 MNT 5,985

$44.07 A$63.1

-96.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.29 MNT 37.0K

$12.43 A$17.79

-17.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 MNT 5,126

$5.33 A$7.63

-73.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 MNT 6,455

$5.16 A$7.38

-65.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.55 MNT 1,967

$4.40 A$6.29

-87.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.54 MNT 1,950

$1.40 A$2.01

-61.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.48 MNT 23.3K

$29.83 A$42.69

-78.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 MNT 3,852

$1.46 A$2.09

-26.71%

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

$27.3K MNT 98.2M

$28.1K A$40.3K

-2.89%

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

$35.4K MNT 127.4M

$25.9K A$37.1K

36.61%

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

$70.6 MNT 253.8K

$233 A$333

-69.64%

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

$7.68 MNT 27.6K

$27.28 A$39.04

-71.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.82 MNT 49.7K

$57.0 A$81.6

-75.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

Cinema Ticket

$4.24 MNT 15.2K

$17.10 A$24.48

-75.20%

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

$831 MNT 3.0M

$2,373 A$3,397

-64.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,568 MNT 30.8M

$30.5K A$43.6K

-71.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.5 MNT 299.8K

$78.2 A$112

6.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.49 MNT 163.5K

$50.5 A$72.2

-9.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 MNT 371.8K

$121 A$172

-14.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$185 MNT 665.6K

$133 A$191

39.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.32

5.9

74.92%

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

Last update for Darkhan: October 5, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Darkhan

$238 37%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 62% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Darkhan

$188 29.2%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 8.4% $16

Eating Out

Darkhan

$114 17.7%

Melbourne

$314 11% 177% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Darkhan

$92 14.3%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 244% $225

Sport & Entertainment

Darkhan

$8.5 * 1.3%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 923% $78

Getting Around

Darkhan

$3.3 * 0.5%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 5062% $165

Accommodation & Living

Darkhan

- * 0%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $32.00 in Darkhan vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $238 vs $385 per month, with Darkhan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇳 Darkhan

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

10:22 10:22 AM

13:22 1:22 PM

3 h ahead of Darkhan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,738

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Mongolian Tögrög MNT ₮

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD

10,000 MNT = 2.48 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MNT – Mongolian Tögrög Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇳 Mongolian Tögrög (₮)

Mongolian Tögrög exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,593 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD). 1 EUR = 4,030 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.48 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 MNT in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Darkhan Melbourne 10,440 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Darkhan
Melbourne

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

Darkhan vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Darkhan wins on cost – living expenses run 335% lower than in Melbourne. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Darkhan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $983 in Darkhan 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.

Childcare runs $831 in Darkhan 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 Darkhan – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $655 in Darkhan versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Darkhan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Darkhan 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, Darkhan 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 Darkhan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 335% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.