Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Gold Coast

For one person, living costs are similar in Melbourne and in Gold Coast: $2,849 and $2,922 a month, rent and utilities included.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Gold Coast
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Gold Coast Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Gold Coast

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,922

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Gold Coast

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne versus $2,922 in Gold Coast.

Melbourne $2,849
Gold Coast $2,922

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,274 in Melbourne versus $4,497 in Gold Coast.

Melbourne $4,274
Gold Coast $4,497

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,699 in Melbourne versus $6,073 in Gold Coast.

Melbourne $5,699
Gold Coast $6,073

Living in Melbourne costs roughly 2% less than in Gold Coast, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 109% above, Gold Coast 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.86

$20.81 A$29.57

-15.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$105 A$149

-19.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.29

$10.62 A$15.08

14.60%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$3.76 A$5.34

8.24%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$2.83 A$4.01

12.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$2.46 A$3.50

1.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.60

$7.77 A$11.04

23.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.72

$7.51 A$10.68

9.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.57 A$2.22

-4.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$2.65 A$3.76

12.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.81

$2.36 A$3.35

13.56%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.75

$4.90 A$6.97

11.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.22

$9.09 A$12.92

17.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.28

$9.50 A$13.50

5.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.31

$14.71 A$20.90

1.97%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.78

$3.95 A$5.61

3.04%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$3.19 A$4.53

-1.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$3.47 A$4.93

-10.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.72

$4.16 A$5.91

13.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.23

$2.59 A$3.67

15.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$2.48 A$3.52

0.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$2.45 A$3.47

1.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$2.32 A$3.29

-31.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.4

$45.55 A$64.7

-1.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.02

$14.19 A$20.16

-10.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.88

$5.73 A$8.14

-3.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$6.73 A$9.56

-23.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.45

$2.73 A$3.88

40.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$56.0 A$79.6

147.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.19

$2.22 A$3.15

96.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$1.65 A$2.34

-16.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.23

$36.90 A$52.4

-19.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$1.38 A$1.96

7.97%

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

$29.1K A$41.3K

$29.2K A$41.5K

-0.36%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$26.6K A$37.8K

-3.56%

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

$236 A$335

$218 A$310

8.03%

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

$28.01 A$39.80

$31.16 A$44.28

-10.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.3

$54.4 A$77.3

5.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$60.7 A$86.2

-20.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.50

$17.58 A$24.98

22.07%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.10

$13.50 A$19.18

30.89%

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

$2,461 A$3,497

$2,134 A$3,032

15.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$12.1K A$17.2K

145.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$76.3 A$108

6.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.0

$53.6 A$76.1

-7.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$106 A$150

12.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$124 A$176

5.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,419

$2,293 A$3,258

-25.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,002

$1,588 A$2,256

-11.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,967

$3,278 A$4,658

6.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,590

$2,998 A$4,260

-15.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$10.8K A$15.4K

-26.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,805

$7,117 A$10.1K

-3.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,049

$4,118 A$5,851

3.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.69

3.69%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Gold Coast: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Gold Coast

$1.6K 54.4% 12.7% $179

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Gold Coast

$384 13.2% 0.5% $2.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Gold Coast

$304 10.4% 5.4% $17

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Gold Coast

$318 10.9% 1.9% $6

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Gold Coast

$162 5.5% 5.6% $9.5

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Gold Coast

$77 2.7% 53.2% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Gold Coast

$88 3% 4.7% $4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,703 in Melbourne and $2,293 in Gold Coast. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $84 in Melbourne vs $105 in Gold Coast. Groceries flip the comparison at $386 vs $384, with Gold Coast cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇦🇺 Gold Coast

🕒 Local time

02:50 2:50 AM

01:50 1:50 AM

1 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

607,665

💱 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 Gold Coast 1,350 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Gold Coast

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 Gold Coast: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Gold Coast differ by about 3% in total monthly costs ($2,849 vs $2,922 including rent). Melbourne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% 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: $1,703 in Melbourne versus $2,293 in Gold Coast. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Gold Coast runs roughly 60% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $2,849 per month in Melbourne versus $2,922 in Gold Coast – a 3% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Safety-wise, Melbourne and Gold Coast are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.