Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Fiji

For one person, living is cheaper in Fiji: $709 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,700 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Fiji
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Fiji Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Fiji

🇫🇯 Fiji

$709

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Fiji

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $709 in Fiji.

Melbourne $2,852
Fiji $709

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $1,144 in Fiji.

Melbourne $4,297
Fiji $1,144

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $1,578 in Fiji.

Melbourne $5,742
Fiji $1,578

Living in Melbourne is roughly 302% more expensive than in Fiji, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Fiji is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.49

$4.32 FJD 9.67

310.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$122

$31.65 FJD 70.9

168.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.46

$6.54 FJD 14.64

85.93%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.64

$2.50 FJD 5.59

57.20%

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

$3.14 A$4.51

$1.35 FJD 3.01

132.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.49

$1.05 FJD 2.34

131.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.22

$4.08 FJD 9.14

142.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.91

$4.04 FJD 9.05

105.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.22

$1.25 FJD 2.80

24.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.32

$0.26 FJD 0.59

1057.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.14

$0.85 FJD 1.90

238.82%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.82

$3.08 FJD 6.90

76.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.22

$10.64 FJD 23.82

-0.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.81

$5.30 FJD 11.87

81.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.54

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.96

$1.30 FJD 2.92

219.23%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.38

$0.86 FJD 1.94

254.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.74

$1.83 FJD 4.10

80.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.83

$1.31 FJD 2.93

263.36%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.36

$0.70 FJD 1.56

334.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.66

$0.74 FJD 1.65

244.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.56

$0.88 FJD 1.96

181.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.52 FJD 1.16

213.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.3

$10.95 FJD 24.51

302.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.85

$6.19 FJD 13.86

100.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.65

$3.97 FJD 8.89

34.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.41

$4.12 FJD 9.22

25.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.52

$0.93 FJD 2.07

312.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.32

$1.12 FJD 2.52

292.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.84

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.25 FJD 2.81

16.80%

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

$28.1K A$40.4K

$46.1K FJD 103.2K

-38.92%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

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

$233 A$334

$53.5 FJD 120

335.19%

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

$27.28 A$39.19

$13.37 FJD 29.94

104.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.9

$17.80 FJD 39.86

220.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.7

$21.89 FJD 49.01

140.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.49

$4.42 FJD 9.89

411.76%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.57

$4.10 FJD 9.18

317.07%

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

$2,373 A$3,409

$44.79 FJD 100

5199.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$19.42 FJD 43.48

302.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.5

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$30.25 FJD 67.7

298.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,460

$680 FJD 1,523

151.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,014

$270 FJD 604

419.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,796

$1,095 FJD 2,452

204.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,632

$610 FJD 1,366

314.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.1K

$1,289 FJD 2,886

444.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,721

$1,293 FJD 2,896

423.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,074

$538 FJD 1,205

685.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

-1.67%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Fiji: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Fiji

$270 38.4% 80.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Fiji

$169 * 24% 56.2% $217

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Fiji

$85 12% 73.3% $232

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Fiji

$122 17.4% 61.1% $192

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Fiji

$22 * 3.2% 87% $150

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Fiji

$4.8 * 0.7% 97.1% $163

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Fiji

$30 4.3% 65.4% $57

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 $1,713 in Melbourne and $680 in Fiji. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 686% 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 $32.00 in Fiji for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $169 per month, with Fiji cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇫🇯 Fiji

🕒 Local time

19:01 7:01 PM

20:01 8:01 PM

1 h ahead of Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

92,043

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Fijian Dollar FJD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.398 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

FJD, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Fijian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.24 FJD (1 FJD = 0.447 USD). 1 EUR = 2.51 FJD (1 FJD = 0.398 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Melbourne Fiji 3,920 km ≈ 5 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 Fiji: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fiji is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 302% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 686% 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 $680 in Fiji. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 129% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,852 per month in Melbourne versus $709 in Fiji – a 302% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $709 in Fiji versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Fiji but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Fiji 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 Fiji 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 Fiji gentler on the wallet – expenses run 302% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.