Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Busselton

For one person, living is cheaper in Busselton: $2,622 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 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
125

Cost of Living Index in Busselton
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Busselton Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Busselton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,622

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Busselton

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne versus $2,622 in Busselton.

Melbourne $2,849
Busselton $2,622

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,274 in Melbourne versus $3,738 in Busselton.

Melbourne $4,274
Busselton $3,738

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,699 in Melbourne versus $4,853 in Busselton.

Melbourne $5,699
Busselton $4,853

Living in Melbourne is roughly 9% more expensive than in Busselton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.86

$17.71 A$25.17

-1.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$85.7 A$122

-1.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.29

$10.46 A$14.86

16.35%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$4.61 A$6.55

-11.71%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$2.06 A$2.92

54.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$2.15 A$3.06

16.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.60

$8.16 A$11.59

17.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.72

$8.65 A$12.29

-4.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.69 A$2.40

-11.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$3.24 A$4.60

-8.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.81

$2.03 A$2.89

32.02%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.75

$5.29 A$7.51

3.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.22

$9.02 A$12.82

18.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.28

$9.45 A$13.43

6.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.31

$13.73 A$19.51

9.25%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.78

$4.59 A$6.53

-11.33%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$3.23 A$4.59

-2.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$3.55 A$5.05

-12.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.72

$4.99 A$7.09

-5.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.23

$2.91 A$4.13

2.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$1.97 A$2.80

26.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$2.22 A$3.16

11.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$1.35 A$1.91

18.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.4

$41.77 A$59.4

6.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.02

$12.58 A$17.88

0.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.88

$4.34 A$6.16

27.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$3.42 A$4.87

51.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.45

$2.83 A$4.02

35.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$75.3 A$107

84.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.19

$3.72 A$5.28

17.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$1.46 A$2.08

-6.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.23

$40.47 A$57.5

-26.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$1.36 A$1.94

9.56%

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

$29.1K A$41.3K

$29.6K A$42.1K

-1.82%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$27.3K A$38.7K

-5.85%

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

$236 A$335

$205 A$291

14.95%

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

$28.01 A$39.80

$33.45 A$47.53

-16.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.3

$64.7 A$92.0

-11.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$54.5 A$77.5

-11.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.50

$19.77 A$28.10

8.55%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.10

$17.48 A$24.84

1.09%

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

$2,461 A$3,497

$2,269 A$3,224

8.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$23.0K A$32.7K

28.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$78.1 A$111

3.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.0

$63.0 A$89.6

-21.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$123 A$175

-3.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$161 A$228

-18.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,419

$1,288 A$1,830

32.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,002

$1,270 A$1,805

10.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,967

$2,366 A$3,362

47.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,590

$1,815 A$2,580

39.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$5,978 A$8,494

33.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,805

$4,879 A$6,932

41.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,049

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.96

-1.01%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Busselton: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Busselton

$1.3K 48.5% 9.8% $139

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Busselton

$367 14% 5.1% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Busselton

$303 11.6% 5.5% $18

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Busselton

$303 11.6% 2.9% $9.2

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Busselton

$191 7.3% 11.6% $20

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Busselton

$98 3.7% 40.9% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Busselton

$89 3.4% 6.9% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,703 in Melbourne and $1,288 in Busselton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $84 in Melbourne vs $86 in Busselton. Groceries flip the comparison at $386 vs $367, with Busselton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇦🇺 Busselton

🕒 Local time

04:40 4:40 AM

01:40 1:40 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

27,233

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Busselton 2,700 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Busselton

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 Busselton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Busselton differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,849 vs $2,622 including rent). Busselton is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $4,273 in Melbourne and $3,933 in Busselton to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,703 in Melbourne versus $1,288 in Busselton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,461 in Melbourne versus $2,269 in Busselton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Busselton runs roughly 46% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your 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 Busselton are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.