Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Ambon

For one person, living is cheaper in Ambon: $625 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Ambon
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Ambon Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Ambon

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Ambon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $625 in Ambon.

Melbourne $2,852
Ambon $625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $997 in Ambon.

Melbourne $4,297
Ambon $997

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $1,368 in Ambon.

Melbourne $5,742
Ambon $1,368

Living in Melbourne is roughly 356% more expensive than in Ambon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Ambon is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$1.10 Rp 19.6K

1513.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$13.77 Rp 246.2K

516.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$3.82 Rp 68.3K

218.32%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$1.47 Rp 26.3K

167.35%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.43 Rp 7,711

630.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.29 Rp 5,155

737.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$2.29 Rp 40.9K

332.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$3.46 Rp 61.8K

139.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

44.86%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$0.99 Rp 17.6K

204.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

260.00%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.37 Rp 24.5K

297.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$7.33 Rp 131.1K

44.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$2.93 Rp 52.4K

227.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$7.72 Rp 138.0K

94.17%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$2.23 Rp 39.9K

86.10%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

136.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.70 Rp 30.3K

94.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$1.27 Rp 22.6K

274.80%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

135.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$1.99 Rp 35.6K

28.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.73 Rp 13.1K

239.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.43 Rp 7,711

279.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$2.29 Rp 40.9K

1824.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$21.10 Rp 377.1K

-41.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.81 Rp 32.3K

194.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$3.05 Rp 54.5K

69.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.26 Rp 4,719

1376.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$16.64 Rp 297.5K

750.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$0.52 Rp 9,372

746.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.36 Rp 6,402

288.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$2.69 Rp 48.0K

1008.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$0.81 Rp 14.5K

80.25%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$21.1K Rp 377.3M

33.37%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$27.3K Rp 487.1M

-4.79%

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

$233 A$333

$57.5 Rp 1.0M

304.61%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$5.48 Rp 97.9K

397.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$18.88 Rp 337.4K

202.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$18.58 Rp 332.0K

183.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$7.69 Rp 137.5K

194.15%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$1.37 Rp 24.5K

1148.18%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$95.1 Rp 1.7M

2397.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$6,994 Rp 125.0M

335.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$42.94 Rp 767.5K

82.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$32.09 Rp 573.6K

57.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$73.0 Rp 1.3M

65.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$71.7 Rp 1.3M

85.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$207 Rp 3.7M

727.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$127 Rp 2.3M

1004.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$477 Rp 8.5M

599.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$405 Rp 7.2M

524.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$1,004 Rp 17.9M

599.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$915 Rp 16.4M

639.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$125 Rp 2.2M

3288.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

9.46

-37.63%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Ambon: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Ambon

$127 21.1% 90.9% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Ambon

$194 32.3% 49.5% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Ambon

$82 13.6% 74.2% $235

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Ambon

$59 9.8% 81.2% $255

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Ambon

$99 16.4% 42.5% $73

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Ambon

$20 3.3% 88.1% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Ambon

$21 3.5% 75.5% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $207 in Ambon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 3288% 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: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $14.00 in Ambon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $194 per month, with Ambon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇮🇩 Ambon

🕒 Local time

21:24 9:24 PM

19:24 7:24 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

275,888

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,875 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,030 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Ambon 4,160 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Ambon

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

Melbourne vs Ambon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ambon wins on cost – living expenses run 356% lower than in Melbourne. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ambon the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 3288% higher in Melbourne, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $207 in Ambon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,852 per month in Melbourne versus $625 in Ambon – a 356% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ambon runs roughly 750% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $625 in Ambon versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ambon but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Ambon 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, Melbourne and Ambon 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 Ambon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 356% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.