Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Boryeong

For one person, living is cheaper in Boryeong: $1,491 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 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
72

Cost of Living Index in Boryeong
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Boryeong Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Boryeong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,491

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Boryeong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne versus $1,491 in Boryeong.

Melbourne $2,849
Boryeong $1,491

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,274 in Melbourne versus $2,407 in Boryeong.

Melbourne $4,274
Boryeong $2,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,699 in Melbourne versus $3,324 in Boryeong.

Melbourne $5,699
Boryeong $3,324

Living in Melbourne is roughly 91% more expensive than in Boryeong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 109% above, Boryeong 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.88

$8.93 ₩11.8K

95.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$68.1 ₩90.3K

23.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.30

$7.32 ₩9,710

66.26%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$4.08 ₩5,408

-0.25%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$1.56 ₩2,071

103.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$0.75 ₩990

233.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.61

$3.77 ₩5,002

153.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.73

$5.85 ₩7,768

41.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$2.12 ₩2,812

-29.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$3.15 ₩4,178

-5.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.82

$4.19 ₩5,556

-36.04%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.76

$3.53 ₩4,678

54.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.23

$17.85 ₩23.7K

-40.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.29

$10.63 ₩14.1K

-5.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.33

$26.69 ₩35.4K

-43.80%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.79

$7.90 ₩10.5K

-48.48%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$3.38 ₩4,491

-7.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$5.76 ₩7,643

-45.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.73

$6.16 ₩8,172

-23.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.24

$3.68 ₩4,887

-19.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$2.62 ₩3,478

-4.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$2.92 ₩3,880

-15.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$1.14 ₩1,514

40.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.5

$3.48 ₩4,616

1183.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.03

$18.49 ₩24.5K

-31.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.89

$2.28 ₩3,024

143.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$3.27 ₩4,337

58.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.46

$1.16 ₩1,540

231.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.20

$3.65 ₩4,841

19.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$0.64 ₩853

114.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.26

$8.75 ₩11.6K

239.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$1.45 ₩1,929

2.76%

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

$29.1K A$41.4K

$29.2K ₩38.7M

-0.36%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$28.5K ₩37.9M

-10.09%

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

$236 A$335

$212 ₩281.9K

10.94%

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

$28.01 A$39.83

$35.99 ₩47.8K

-22.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.4

$20.61 ₩27.3K

177.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$54.2 ₩72.0K

-10.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.52

$14.07 ₩18.7K

52.52%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.12

$11.14 ₩14.8K

58.62%

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

$2,461 A$3,499

$379 ₩503.3K

548.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$22.5K ₩29.8M

32.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$58.5 ₩77.7K

38.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.1

$32.86 ₩43.6K

49.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$69.3 ₩92.0K

72.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$84.1 ₩111.5K

55.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,421

$489 ₩648.4K

248.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,003

$361 ₩479.2K

290.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,971

$1,184 ₩1.6M

195.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,593

$758 ₩1.0M

233.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$7,113 ₩9.4M

12.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,812

$5,616 ₩7.5M

22.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,053

$1,484 ₩2.0M

186.76%

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 26, 2026

Last update for Boryeong: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Boryeong

$361 24.2% 74.4% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Boryeong

$481 32.2% 24.3% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Boryeong

$269 18% 16.2% $52

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Boryeong

$182 12.2% 41.7% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Boryeong

$110 7.4% 35.8% $61

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Boryeong

$12 * 0.8% 93% $154

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Boryeong

$77 5.1% 8.6% $7.2

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 $1,703 in Melbourne and $489 in Boryeong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Melbourne vs $68 in Boryeong. Groceries flip the comparison at $386 vs $481, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇰🇷 Boryeong

🕒 Local time

21:02 9:02 PM

19:02 7:02 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

103,620

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.77 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,327 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD). 1 EUR = 1,477 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Boryeong 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Boryeong

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 Boryeong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Boryeong differ by about 91% in total monthly costs ($2,849 vs $1,491 including rent). Boryeong is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Melbourne is about 2.9 times higher, 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: $1,703 in Melbourne versus $489 in Boryeong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,461 in Melbourne versus $379 in Boryeong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Boryeong – a meal for two runs $68 versus $84 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,491 in Boryeong versus $2,849 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Boryeong but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Boryeong 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 Boryeong are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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