Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Haifa and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Haifa: $2,457 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Melbourne outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

118

Cost of Living Index in Haifa
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Haifa Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Haifa

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,457

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,457 in Haifa versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Haifa $2,457
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,680 in Haifa versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Haifa $3,680
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,904 in Haifa versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Haifa $4,904
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Haifa costs roughly 13% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Haifa 82% above, Melbourne 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.88 ₪80.5

$17.43 A$25.08

48.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 ₪330

$84.6 A$122

25.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.58 ₪60.9

$12.46 A$17.92

57.14%

Cappuccino

$4.56 ₪14.20

$4.11 A$5.91

10.95%

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

$3.61 ₪11.24

$3.06 A$4.40

17.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 ₪9.93

$2.52 A$3.62

26.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.64 ₪33.11

$9.80 A$14.10

8.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.64 ₪33.10

$8.57 A$12.33

24.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.56 ₪7.98

$1.48 A$2.14

72.97%

White Bread (500g)

$3.76 ₪11.69

$2.94 A$4.23

27.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.78 ₪11.77

$2.66 A$3.82

42.11%

Eggs

$5.01 ₪15.58

$5.54 A$7.97

-9.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.62 ₪54.8

$10.51 A$15.13

67.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.67 ₪39.41

$9.65 A$13.89

31.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.83 ₪74.1

$15.22 A$21.91

56.57%

Apples (1kg)

$4.34 ₪13.51

$3.99 A$5.75

8.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.98 ₪9.26

$3.02 A$4.34

-1.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₪7.24

$3.10 A$4.46

-24.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 ₪8.09

$4.82 A$6.93

-46.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 ₪6.46

$3.03 A$4.36

-31.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.75 ₪5.44

$2.44 A$3.52

-28.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 ₪7.57

$2.46 A$3.54

-1.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 ₪8.40

$1.63 A$2.34

65.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.21 ₪41.09

$44.07 A$63.4

-70.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.35 ₪47.77

$12.70 A$18.28

20.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 ₪10.03

$5.54 A$7.97

-41.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.95 ₪15.41

$5.23 A$7.52

-5.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.67 ₪8.29

$3.74 A$5.38

-28.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 ₪315

$138 A$198

-26.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.19 ₪13.04

$4.51 A$6.50

-7.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 ₪3.92

$1.36 A$1.96

-7.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.97 ₪115

$30.45 A$43.81

21.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.56 ₪7.96

$1.47 A$2.12

74.15%

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

$57.8K ₪179.9K

$29.0K A$41.7K

99.42%

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

$57.2K ₪178.1K

$26.5K A$38.1K

116.21%

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

$264 ₪822

$234 A$336

12.99%

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

$11.58 ₪36.02

$27.93 A$40.19

-58.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.35 ₪110

$55.7 A$80.2

-36.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$83.9 ₪261

$49.40 A$71.1

69.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.08 ₪78.0

$21.48 A$30.91

16.76%

Cinema Ticket

$15.78 ₪49.09

$15.09 A$21.72

4.57%

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

$1,140 ₪3,548

$2,371 A$3,412

-51.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 ₪355

$80.0 A$115

42.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$71.0 ₪221

$50.7 A$73.0

40.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 ₪421

$121 A$174

12.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 ₪478

$130 A$188

17.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,057 ₪3,288

$1,759 A$2,531

-39.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$816 ₪2,538

$1,390 A$2,000

-41.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,640 ₪5,104

$3,494 A$5,027

-53.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,183 ₪3,681

$2,493 A$3,588

-52.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,291 ₪28.9K

$6,926 A$9,967

34.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,147 ₪19.1K

$6,445 A$9,274

-4.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,372 ₪13.6K

$4,383 A$6,307

-0.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

5.9

-14.58%

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

Last update for Haifa: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Haifa

$816 33.2%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 70.3% $574

Groceries & Markets

Haifa

$457 18.6%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 15.9% $73

Eating Out

Haifa

$422 17.2%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 25.5% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Haifa

$311 12.7%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 2.1% $6.4

Clothing & Footwear

Haifa

$213 8.7%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 19.5% $42

Getting Around

Haifa

$122 5%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 33.9% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Haifa

$115 4.7%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 31.1% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,057 in Haifa and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 0% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $106 in Haifa vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $457 vs $384 per month, with Melbourne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇱 Haifa

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

14:47 2:47 PM

22:47 10:47 PM

8 h ahead of Haifa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

279,591

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 ILS = 0.321 USD

1 ILS = 0.286 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to ILS – Israeli New Shekel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇱 Israeli New Shekel (₪)

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.11 ILS (1 ILS = 0.321 USD). 1 EUR = 3.5 ILS (1 ILS = 0.286 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to ILS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Haifa Melbourne 13,790 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Haifa
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

Haifa vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Haifa is cheaper overall, especially in transport and utilities. The 15% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 0% 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: $1,057 in Haifa versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,457 per month in Haifa versus $2,821 in Melbourne – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Haifa runs roughly 36% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $2,457 in Haifa versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Haifa but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Haifa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Haifa 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 Haifa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.