Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Ansan

For one person, living is cheaper in Ansan: $1,404 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Ansan
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Ansan Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Ansan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,404

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Ansan

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 Ansan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,404 in Ansan.

Melbourne $2,821
Ansan $1,404

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $2,148 in Ansan.

Melbourne $4,235
Ansan $2,148

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,892 in Ansan.

Melbourne $5,650
Ansan $2,892

Living in Melbourne is roughly 101% more expensive than in Ansan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 109% above, Ansan 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$7.57 ₩10.1K

130.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$35.22 ₩47.0K

140.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$6.68 ₩8,918

86.53%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$4.01 ₩5,354

2.49%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.55 ₩2,071

97.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.76 ₩1,019

231.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.50 ₩4,675

180.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$4.61 ₩6,149

85.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$2.03 ₩2,711

-27.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$3.04 ₩4,052

-3.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$2.34 ₩3,125

13.68%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$3.52 ₩4,691

57.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$15.62 ₩20.8K

-32.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$8.10 ₩10.8K

19.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$17.14 ₩22.9K

-11.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$7.58 ₩10.1K

-47.36%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$3.18 ₩4,238

-5.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$5.70 ₩7,599

-45.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$6.10 ₩8,132

-20.98%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.74 ₩4,989

-18.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.54 ₩3,388

-3.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$2.08 ₩2,769

18.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$1.16 ₩1,542

40.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.32 ₩4,432

1227.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$18.70 ₩25.0K

-32.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.27 ₩3,022

144.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$3.19 ₩4,258

63.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.13 ₩1,508

230.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.63 ₩4,844

24.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.64 ₩857

112.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$9.03 ₩12.0K

237.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.42 ₩1,895

3.52%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$29.6K ₩39.5M

-2.09%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$28.1K ₩37.4M

-5.65%

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

$234 A$336

$208 ₩278.1K

12.13%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$34.86 ₩46.5K

-19.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$21.07 ₩28.1K

164.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$37.31 ₩49.8K

32.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$11.11 ₩14.8K

35.82%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$299 ₩398.9K

693.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$18.0K ₩24.0M

68.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$57.3 ₩76.5K

39.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$32.80 ₩43.8K

54.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$69.8 ₩93.2K

72.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$81.2 ₩108.4K

60.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$449 ₩598.6K

292.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$379 ₩505.6K

266.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,122 ₩1.5M

211.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$740 ₩987.2K

236.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$21.4K ₩28.5M

-67.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,488 ₩2.0M

194.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.08

44.61%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Ansan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Ansan

$379 27% 72.7% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Ansan

$417 29.7% 8.5% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Ansan

$264 18.8% 16.7% $53

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Ansan

$165 11.7% 47.6% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Ansan

$109 7.7% 36.8% $63

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Ansan

$11 * 0.8% 93.1% $152

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Ansan

$60 4.2% 25.2% $20

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $449 in Ansan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 195% 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 $35.00 in Ansan. Groceries flip the comparison at $384 vs $417, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇰🇷 Ansan

🕒 Local time

06:49 6:49 AM

04:49 4:49 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

677,710

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.5 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,334 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,500 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.67 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Ansan 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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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 Ansan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ansan is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 101% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 195% 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: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $449 in Ansan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $299 in Ansan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ansan – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,404 in Ansan versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ansan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Ansan 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 Ansan 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 Ansan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.