Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gold Coast and Sydney

For one person, living is cheaper in Gold Coast: $2,922 a month against $3,267 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Gold Coast
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Gold Coast Living Index
157

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index

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Gold Coast

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,922

/mo nomad

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,267

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gold Coast and in Sydney

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Gold Coast and in Sydney actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,922 in Gold Coast versus $3,267 in Sydney.

Gold Coast $2,922
Sydney $3,267

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,497 in Gold Coast versus $4,847 in Sydney.

Gold Coast $4,497
Sydney $4,847

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,073 in Gold Coast versus $6,428 in Sydney.

Gold Coast $6,073
Sydney $6,428

Living in Gold Coast costs roughly 11% less than in Sydney, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Gold Coast 115% above, Sydney 140% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.81 A$29.57

$17.50 A$24.87

18.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 A$149

$90.4 A$128

15.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 A$15.08

$11.96 A$16.99

-11.20%

Cappuccino

$3.76 A$5.34

$4.00 A$5.68

-6.00%

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

$2.83 A$4.01

$2.81 A$4.00

0.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.50

$2.22 A$3.16

10.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.77 A$11.04

$8.13 A$11.56

-4.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.51 A$10.68

$7.20 A$10.23

4.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 A$2.22

$1.70 A$2.42

-7.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 A$3.76

$2.94 A$4.17

-9.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.36 A$3.35

$2.51 A$3.57

-5.98%

Eggs

$4.90 A$6.97

$5.66 A$8.04

-13.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 A$12.92

$12.22 A$17.36

-25.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.50 A$13.50

$9.31 A$13.24

2.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.71 A$20.90

$16.87 A$23.97

-12.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.95 A$5.61

$3.90 A$5.54

1.28%

Banana (1kg)

$3.19 A$4.53

$3.22 A$4.58

-0.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 A$4.93

$3.43 A$4.88

1.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 A$5.91

$4.33 A$6.16

-3.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.59 A$3.67

$3.35 A$4.75

-22.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.48 A$3.52

$2.40 A$3.41

3.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.47

$2.34 A$3.32

4.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.32 A$3.29

$1.16 A$1.65

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.55 A$64.7

$45.47 A$64.6

0.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.19 A$20.16

$13.99 A$19.88

1.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.73 A$8.14

$4.11 A$5.84

39.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.73 A$9.56

$4.18 A$5.94

61.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 A$3.88

$3.12 A$4.44

-12.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.0 A$79.6

$152 A$216

-63.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.22 A$3.15

$3.46 A$4.92

-35.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 A$2.34

$1.56 A$2.22

5.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.90 A$52.4

$39.54 A$56.2

-6.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 A$1.96

$1.45 A$2.05

-4.83%

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

$29.2K A$41.5K

$29.9K A$42.5K

-2.36%

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

$26.6K A$37.8K

$27.5K A$39.1K

-3.28%

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

$218 A$310

$251 A$356

-13.04%

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

$31.16 A$44.28

$27.76 A$39.44

12.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.4 A$77.3

$58.0 A$82.4

-6.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.7 A$86.2

$70.7 A$100

-14.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.58 A$24.98

$23.25 A$33.04

-24.39%

Cinema Ticket

$13.50 A$19.18

$17.83 A$25.33

-24.28%

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

$2,134 A$3,032

$2,358 A$3,351

-9.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K A$17.2K

$27.2K A$38.6K

-55.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.3 A$108

$80.5 A$114

-5.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.6 A$76.1

$69.3 A$98.5

-22.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$150

$111 A$157

-4.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 A$176

$127 A$181

-2.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,293 A$3,258

$2,566 A$3,646

-10.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,588 A$2,256

$1,792 A$2,547

-11.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,278 A$4,658

$5,202 A$7,391

-36.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,998 A$4,260

$3,156 A$4,485

-5.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.8K A$15.4K

$13.4K A$19.0K

-19.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,117 A$10.1K

$8,727 A$12.4K

-18.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,118 A$5,851

-0.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.69

5.92

-3.89%

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

Last update for Gold Coast: October 26, 2026

Last update for Sydney: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gold Coast

$1.6K 54.4%

Sydney

$1.8K 54.9% 12.9% $204

Groceries & Markets

Gold Coast

$384 13.2%

Sydney

$382 11.7% 0.6% $2.3

Eating Out

Gold Coast

$318 10.9%

Sydney

$299 9.2% 6.1% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gold Coast

$304 10.4%

Sydney

$337 10.3% 10.8% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Gold Coast

$162 5.5%

Sydney

$175 5.3% 7.8% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Gold Coast

$88 3%

Sydney

$106 3.3% 21.2% $19

Getting Around

Gold Coast

$77 2.7%

Sydney

$176 5.4% 127% $98

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,293 in Gold Coast and $2,566 in Sydney. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $105 in Gold Coast vs $90 in Sydney for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $382 per month, with Sydney cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Gold Coast

🇦🇺 Sydney

🕒 Local time

23:03 11:03 PM

00:03 12:03 AM

1 h ahead of Gold Coast

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

607,665

4,840,600

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Gold Coast Sydney 690 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Gold Coast
Sydney

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

Gold Coast vs Sydney: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gold Coast and Sydney differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($2,922 vs $3,267 including rent). Gold Coast is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $4,382 in Gold Coast and $4,900 in Sydney 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,293 in Gold Coast versus $2,566 in Sydney. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Gold Coast runs roughly 63% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $2,922 per month in Gold Coast versus $3,267 in Sydney – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

For families, Gold Coast is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sydney, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Gold Coast and Sydney are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.