Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Kedah

For one person, living is cheaper in Kedah: $877 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $23,700 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Kedah
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Kedah Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Kedah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$877

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Kedah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne versus $877 in Kedah.

Melbourne $2,849
Kedah $877

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,274 in Melbourne versus $1,399 in Kedah.

Melbourne $4,274
Kedah $1,399

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,699 in Melbourne versus $1,920 in Kedah.

Melbourne $5,699
Kedah $1,920

Living in Melbourne is roughly 225% more expensive than in Kedah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Kedah is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.88

$3.72 MYR 15.19

370.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$12.32 MYR 50.4

584.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.30

$4.56 MYR 18.65

166.89%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$2.91 MYR 11.90

39.86%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$0.77 MYR 3.15

312.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$0.39 MYR 1.60

541.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.61

$4.24 MYR 17.31

125.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.73

$4.36 MYR 17.80

89.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.88 MYR 7.68

-20.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$1.06 MYR 4.33

180.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.82

$1.72 MYR 7.01

55.81%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.76

$2.19 MYR 8.94

148.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.23

$13.55 MYR 55.4

-20.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.29

$4.34 MYR 17.75

131.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.33

$8.84 MYR 36.13

69.68%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.79

$2.94 MYR 12.02

38.44%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$1.63 MYR 6.67

92.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$2.75 MYR 11.24

13.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.73

$1.45 MYR 5.94

226.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.24

$1.10 MYR 4.50

170.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$1.09 MYR 4.45

128.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$1.13 MYR 4.63

119.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$0.57 MYR 2.34

180.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.5

$4.62 MYR 18.89

866.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.03

$18.76 MYR 76.7

-32.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.89

$2.98 MYR 12.19

86.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$5.33 MYR 21.79

-2.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.46

$0.76 MYR 3.11

405.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$12.85 MYR 52.5

979.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.20

$1.66 MYR 6.78

162.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$0.38 MYR 1.54

260.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.26

$7.29 MYR 29.79

307.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$0.60 MYR 2.47

148.33%

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

$29.1K A$41.4K

$45.6K MYR 186.5K

-36.26%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$35.8K MYR 146.5K

-28.39%

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

$236 A$335

$36.47 MYR 149

546.17%

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

$28.01 A$39.83

$9.66 MYR 39.47

189.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.4

$29.48 MYR 120

94.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$34.63 MYR 142

39.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.52

$6.85 MYR 28.01

213.28%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.12

$4.79 MYR 19.59

268.89%

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

$2,461 A$3,499

$388 MYR 1,584

534.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$10.7K MYR 43.6K

178.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$58.9 MYR 241

37.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.1

$34.76 MYR 142

41.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$81.6 MYR 334

46.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$70.7 MYR 289

85.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,421

$358 MYR 1,462

375.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,003

$258 MYR 1,054

446.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,971

$712 MYR 2,911

390.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,593

$607 MYR 2,479

316.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$1,930 MYR 7,889

313.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,812

$1,258 MYR 5,140

448.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,053

$1,339 MYR 5,473

217.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.04

46.04%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Kedah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Kedah

$258 29.4% 81.7% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Kedah

$257 29.3% 33.6% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Kedah

$76 8.6% 76.4% $245

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Kedah

$113 12.9% 63.9% $200

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Kedah

$111 12.6% 35.5% $61

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Kedah

$19 2.2% 88.2% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Kedah

$44 5% 47.2% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,703 in Melbourne and $358 in Kedah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays about 3.2 times 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: $84 in Melbourne vs $12 in Kedah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $386 vs $257 per month, with Kedah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇲🇾 Kedah

🕒 Local time

01:47 1:47 AM

22:47 10:47 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

417,800

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.55 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Kedah 6,720 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Kedah

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 Kedah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Kedah differ by about 225% in total monthly costs ($2,849 vs $877 including rent). Kedah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Melbourne is about 3.2 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 $358 in Kedah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,461 in Melbourne versus $388 in Kedah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $877 in Kedah versus $2,849 in Melbourne, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kedah but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Kedah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kedah is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Melbourne, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Melbourne and Kedah 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 Kedah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.