Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lod and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Lod: $2,629 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Melbourne outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

134

Cost of Living Index in Lod
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Lod Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Lod

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,629

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,629 in Lod versus $2,849 in Melbourne.

Lod $2,629
Melbourne $2,849

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,950 in Lod versus $4,274 in Melbourne.

Lod $3,950
Melbourne $4,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,272 in Lod versus $5,699 in Melbourne.

Lod $5,272
Melbourne $5,699

Living in Lod costs roughly 8% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lod 93% above, Melbourne 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.36 ₪72.8

$17.50 A$24.86

33.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.5 ₪301

$84.3 A$120

14.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.07 ₪59.4

$12.17 A$17.29

56.70%

Cappuccino

$4.92 ₪15.33

$4.07 A$5.79

20.88%

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

$3.61 ₪11.24

$3.18 A$4.52

13.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 ₪8.93

$2.50 A$3.55

14.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.97 ₪24.82

$9.57 A$13.60

-16.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.89 ₪30.80

$8.25 A$11.72

19.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.41 ₪7.50

$1.50 A$2.14

60.67%

White Bread (500g)

$3.37 ₪10.49

$2.97 A$4.22

13.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.55 ₪11.05

$2.68 A$3.81

32.46%

Eggs

$4.91 ₪15.30

$5.45 A$7.75

-9.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.13 ₪53.3

$10.71 A$15.22

59.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.34 ₪44.68

$10.05 A$14.28

42.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.53 ₪79.5

$15.00 A$21.31

70.20%

Apples (1kg)

$4.36 ₪13.58

$4.07 A$5.78

7.13%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 ₪10.52

$3.14 A$4.46

7.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 ₪7.51

$3.12 A$4.43

-22.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.41 ₪7.51

$4.73 A$6.72

-49.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 ₪6.03

$2.98 A$4.23

-35.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 ₪5.13

$2.49 A$3.55

-33.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.03 ₪6.32

$2.48 A$3.53

-18.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 ₪5.85

$1.60 A$2.27

17.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.73 ₪42.76

$44.65 A$63.4

-69.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.39 ₪47.93

$12.68 A$18.02

21.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.75 ₪11.67

$5.55 A$7.88

-32.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 ₪13.57

$5.18 A$7.37

-15.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.50 ₪7.78

$3.84 A$5.45

-34.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 ₪314

$139 A$197

-27.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 ₪12.17

$4.36 A$6.19

-10.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 ₪3.54

$1.37 A$1.94

-16.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.53 ₪60.8

$29.72 A$42.23

-34.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.55 ₪7.94

$1.49 A$2.11

71.14%

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

$56.1K ₪174.7K

$29.1K A$41.3K

92.83%

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

$55.0K ₪171.4K

$25.7K A$36.5K

114.43%

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

$286 ₪889

$236 A$335

21.15%

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

$11.47 ₪35.73

$28.01 A$39.80

-59.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.47 ₪110

$57.2 A$81.3

-38.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$87.8 ₪273

$48.39 A$68.8

81.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.50

Cinema Ticket

$15.01 ₪46.76

$17.67 A$25.10

-15.05%

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

$1,394 ₪4,341

$2,461 A$3,497

-43.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.1K ₪90.6K

$29.7K A$42.2K

-2.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$118 ₪367

$81.2 A$115

45.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.4 ₪235

$49.28 A$70.0

52.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$150 ₪467

$120 A$170

25.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$158 ₪494

$131 A$186

20.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,756 ₪5,468

$1,703 A$2,419

3.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$990 ₪3,085

$1,409 A$2,002

-29.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,241 ₪6,981

$3,496 A$4,967

-35.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,642 ₪5,114

$2,527 A$3,590

-35.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,169 ₪28.6K

$7,978 A$11.3K

14.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,250 ₪25.7K

$6,900 A$9,805

19.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,548 ₪7,936

$4,257 A$6,049

-40.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

5.9

-15.42%

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

Last update for Lod: October 25, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lod

$990 37.7%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4% 42.2% $418

Groceries & Markets

Lod

$453 17.2%

Melbourne

$386 13.6% 14.7% $67

Eating Out

Lod

$389 14.8%

Melbourne

$312 11% 19.6% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lod

$332 12.7%

Melbourne

$321 11.3% 3.5% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Lod

$226 8.6%

Melbourne

$171 6% 24% $54

Getting Around

Lod

$120 4.6%

Melbourne

$165 5.8% 37.2% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Lod

$118 4.5%

Melbourne

$84 2.9% 28.9% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,756 in Lod and $1,703 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 67% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $97 in Lod vs $84 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $453 vs $386 per month, with Melbourne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇱 Lod

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

03:01 3:01 AM

12:01 12:01 PM

9 h ahead of Lod

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

81,202

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 ILS = 0.321 USD

1 ILS = 0.288 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.11 ILS (1 ILS = 0.321 USD). 1 EUR = 3.47 ILS (1 ILS = 0.288 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

USD to ILS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lod Melbourne 13,750 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Lod
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

Lod vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lod is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in transport and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 40% lower in Lod. 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: $1,756 in Lod versus $1,703 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,394 in Lod versus $2,461 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Melbourne pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Lod is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Safety-wise, Lod and Melbourne are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Lod wins on affordability, Melbourne on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.