Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lake Macquarie and Da Nang

For one person, living is cheaper in Da Nang: $889 a month against $2,218 in Lake Macquarie, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Lake Macquarie
Learn more

Lake Macquarie Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Da Nang
Learn more

Da Nang Living Index

Jump to prices

Lake Macquarie

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,218

/mo nomad

Da Nang

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lake Macquarie and in Da Nang

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

A single person spends $2,218 per month in Lake Macquarie vs $889 in Da Nang, rent included.

Lake Macquarie $2,218
Da Nang $889

A couple spends around $3,563 per month in Lake Macquarie vs $1,426 in Da Nang, rent included.

Lake Macquarie $3,563
Da Nang $1,426

A family of three spends $4,907 per month in Lake Macquarie vs $1,963 in Da Nang, rent included.

Lake Macquarie $4,907
Da Nang $1,963

Lake Macquarie costs about 150% more than Da Nang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lake Macquarie sits 63% above the global median, while Da Nang is 35% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.44 A$24.79

$2.17 ₫56.1K

703.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$120

$19.53 ₫504.6K

332.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.50 A$14.92

$4.53 ₫117.1K

131.79%

Cappuccino

$3.52 A$5.00

$1.64 ₫42.4K

114.63%

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

$3.15 A$4.47

$0.60 ₫15.6K

425.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 A$2.90

$0.34 ₫8,912

500.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.20 A$10.23

$1.33 ₫34.4K

441.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.91 A$9.81

$2.36 ₫61.0K

192.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 A$1.64

$1.60 ₫41.2K

-28.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 A$2.13

$1.20 ₫31.1K

25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 A$2.26

$1.05 ₫27.1K

51.43%

Eggs

$3.26 A$4.64

$1.52 ₫39.4K

114.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.87 A$11.18

$12.82 ₫331.1K

-38.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.47 A$10.62

$4.17 ₫107.6K

79.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.54 A$17.82

$9.33 ₫240.9K

34.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 A$4.19

$2.60 ₫67.3K

13.46%

Banana (1kg)

$2.56 A$3.64

$1.21 ₫31.4K

111.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.56 A$3.64

$1.28 ₫33.1K

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.76 A$5.34

$1.57 ₫40.6K

139.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.38 A$3.38

$1.20 ₫31.0K

98.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 A$2.92

$1.31 ₫33.9K

57.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 A$2.42

$1.04 ₫26.9K

63.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 A$2.20

$0.49 ₫12.7K

216.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$29.27 A$41.59

$1.51 ₫39.0K

1838.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.38 A$11.90

$7.97 ₫205.9K

5.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 A$4.11

$0.93 ₫24.0K

210.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 A$3.25

$2.18 ₫56.4K

4.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.68 A$3.81

$0.30 ₫7,702

793.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.9 A$118

$6.31 ₫162.9K

1213.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.02 A$2.87

$1.04 ₫26.8K

94.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.18 A$4.52

$0.57 ₫14.6K

457.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.4 A$83.0

$19.27 ₫497.7K

203.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 A$1.90

$0.91 ₫23.5K

47.25%

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

$28.4K A$40.3K

$30.8K ₫796.3M

-7.99%

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

$24.3K A$34.5K

$28.4K ₫733.1M

-14.43%

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

$236 A$335

$78.5 ₫2.0M

200.51%

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

$11.39 A$16.19

$6.35 ₫164.1K

79.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.79 A$59.4

$8.33 ₫215.2K

401.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.7 A$79.1

$27.08 ₫699.4K

105.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.12 A$25.75

$5.32 ₫137.4K

240.60%

Cinema Ticket

$9.57 A$13.59

$3.37 ₫87.0K

183.98%

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

$1,489 A$2,115

$423 ₫10.9M

251.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K A$26.4K

$15.1K ₫390.0M

23.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.3 A$99.9

$45.19 ₫1.2M

55.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.06 A$52.7

$27.75 ₫717.0K

33.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 A$140

$101 ₫2.6M

-2.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 A$158

$82.8 ₫2.1M

34.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,380 A$1,961

$553 ₫14.3M

149.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,040 A$1,478

$369 ₫9.5M

181.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,288 A$3,251

$1,228 ₫31.7M

86.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,267 A$3,222

$821 ₫21.2M

176.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,477 A$7,782

$3,858 ₫99.6M

41.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,415 A$7,694

$1,877 ₫48.5M

188.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,072 A$7,207

$362 ₫9.4M

1299.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.35

10.72

-59.42%

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

Last update for Lake Macquarie: October 26, 2026

Last update for Da Nang: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lake Macquarie

$1K 46.9%

Da Nang

$369 41.5% 64.5% $671

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lake Macquarie

$289 13%

Da Nang

$93 10.5% 67.8% $196

Eating Out

Lake Macquarie

$284 12.8%

Da Nang

$66 7.4% 76.8% $218

Groceries & Markets

Lake Macquarie

$276 12.5%

Da Nang

$200 22.5% 27.5% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Lake Macquarie

$143 6.4%

Da Nang

$115 13% 19.2% $27

Getting Around

Lake Macquarie

$112 5%

Da Nang

$11 1.3% 89.8% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Lake Macquarie

$75 3.4%

Da Nang

$34 3.8% 54.8% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,380 in Lake Macquarie versus $553 in Da Nang. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lake Macquarie are about 14 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85 in Lake Macquarie versus $20 in Da Nang. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $276 vs $200 – making Da Nang the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Lake Macquarie

🇻🇳 Da Nang

🕒 Local time

10:00 10:00 AM

06:00 6:00 AM

4 h behind Lake Macquarie

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,059

1,245,200

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 25,832 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,757 VND (100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lake Macquarie Da Nang 7,140 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lake Macquarie
Da Nang

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

Lake Macquarie vs Da Nang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,218 in Lake Macquarie, $889 in Da Nang – Da Nang comes out roughly 60% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,327 per month in Lake Macquarie and $1,333 in Da Nang. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Da Nang, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $553 there versus $1,380 in Lake Macquarie.

Groceries cost about 38% more in Lake Macquarie, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85 in Lake Macquarie and $20 in Da Nang. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Da Nang, where all-in costs run around $889, than in Lake Macquarie at $2,218. In Da Nang it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lake Macquarie it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Da Nang – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Da Nang. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lake Macquarie makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.