Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Kabul

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabul: $511 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $28,100 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Kabul
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Kabul Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Kabul

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$511

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Kabul

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $511 in Kabul.

Melbourne $2,852
Kabul $511

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $684 in Kabul.

Melbourne $4,297
Kabul $684

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $857 in Kabul.

Melbourne $5,742
Kabul $857

Living in Melbourne is roughly 458% more expensive than in Kabul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Kabul is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$2.70 ؋175

557.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$7.89 ؋511

975.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$4.51 ؋292

169.62%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 ؋148

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ؋122

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$1.09 ؋70.5

260.55%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.45 ؋28.95

597.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.17 ؋10.83

1329.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$0.81 ؋52.4

91.36%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$0.25 ؋16.23

1104.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$1.86 ؋121

54.84%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.54 ؋99.7

253.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$4.46 ؋289

137.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$4.03 ؋261

138.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$6.71 ؋434

123.40%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$0.70 ؋45.11

492.86%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$0.89 ؋57.4

242.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$0.95 ؋61.5

247.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$0.55 ؋35.47

765.45%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$0.61 ؋39.34

398.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$0.51 ؋32.74

400.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.30 ؋19.48

726.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.37 ؋23.89

340.54%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.81 ؋117

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ؋52.0

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 ؋65.8

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$2.42 ؋157

1721.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.13 ؋8.60

2853.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$21.08 ؋1,366

571.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$2.12 ؋138

107.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.45 ؋29.02

211.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$2.77 ؋179

976.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.08 ؋69.9

35.19%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$8,341 ؋540.2K

237.45%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$33.8K ؋2.2M

-23.17%

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

$233 A$333

$42.09 ؋2,726

452.74%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$13.12 ؋850

107.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$95.3 ؋6,174

-40.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$11.15 ؋722

372.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$4.11 ؋266

450.36%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$2.34 ؋152

630.77%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$20.64 ؋1,337

11399.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$1,045 ؋67.7K

2814.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$10.71 ؋694

630.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$15.93 ؋1,032

216.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$57.8 ؋3,741

108.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$25.51 ؋1,652

422.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$125 ؋8,092

1270.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$109 ؋7,043

1189.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$219 ؋14.2K

1426.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$115 ؋7,463

2094.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$675 ؋43.7K

939.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$363 ؋23.5K

1762.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$339 ؋21.9K

1147.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Kabul: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Kabul

$109 21.6% 92.2% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Kabul

$102 20.2% 73.6% $284

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Kabul

$151 29.9% 52.5% $166

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Kabul

$51 10.1% 83.9% $263

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Kabul

$49 9.8% 71.3% $123

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Kabul

$26 5.2% 84.6% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Kabul

$16 3.2% 81.8% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $125 in Kabul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 1148% 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 $8.00 in Kabul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $102 per month, with Kabul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇦🇫 Kabul

🕒 Local time

19:15 7:15 PM

12:45 12:45 PM

6 h 30 min behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

3,289,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AFN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 64.76 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.64 AFN (100 AFN = 1.38 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Kabul 11,210 km ≈ 15 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 Kabul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Kabul differ by about 458% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $511 including rent). Kabul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1148% 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 $125 in Kabul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kabul runs roughly 571% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $20.64 in Kabul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $511 in Kabul versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kabul but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Kabul 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 Kabul 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 Kabul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 458% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.