Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Kota Kinabalu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Kinabalu: $917 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $23,200 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Kota Kinabalu
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Kota Kinabalu Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Kota Kinabalu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$917

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Kota Kinabalu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $917 in Kota Kinabalu.

Melbourne $2,852
Kota Kinabalu $917

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $1,429 in Kota Kinabalu.

Melbourne $4,297
Kota Kinabalu $1,429

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $1,941 in Kota Kinabalu.

Melbourne $5,742
Kota Kinabalu $1,941

Living in Melbourne is roughly 211% more expensive than in Kota Kinabalu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Kota Kinabalu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$3.57 MYR 14.59

397.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$19.54 MYR 79.8

334.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$4.92 MYR 20.09

147.15%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$2.63 MYR 10.74

49.43%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.60 MYR 2.44

423.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.30 MYR 1.22

710.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$2.39 MYR 9.75

314.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$3.74 MYR 15.27

121.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.74 MYR 7.11

-10.92%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.28 MYR 5.23

135.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$2.26 MYR 9.23

27.43%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$3.46 MYR 14.13

57.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$28.33 MYR 116

-62.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$3.69 MYR 15.05

160.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$6.68 MYR 27.27

124.40%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$2.24 MYR 9.15

85.27%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.43 MYR 5.84

113.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.94 MYR 7.91

70.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$1.99 MYR 8.13

139.20%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$1.67 MYR 6.81

82.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$2.13 MYR 8.71

19.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.94 MYR 3.84

163.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.47 MYR 1.93

246.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$4.92 MYR 20.10

795.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$15.84 MYR 64.7

-21.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$3.63 MYR 14.81

46.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$2.47 MYR 10.07

108.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$1.91 MYR 7.80

101.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$41.92 MYR 171

237.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$1.91 MYR 7.82

130.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.23 MYR 0.94

508.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$0.76 MYR 3.11

92.11%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$42.1K MYR 172.1K

-33.20%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$35.6K MYR 145.5K

-27.19%

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

$233 A$333

$70.5 MYR 288

230.09%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$9.69 MYR 39.56

181.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$32.36 MYR 132

76.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$52.3 MYR 214

0.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$3.09 MYR 12.64

632.04%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$5.22 MYR 21.31

227.59%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$141 MYR 575

1585.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$6,995 MYR 28.6K

335.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$81.5 MYR 333

-4.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$36.64 MYR 150

37.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$93.7 MYR 382

28.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$48.75 MYR 199

173.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$425 MYR 1,735

303.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$193 MYR 788

626.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$679 MYR 2,771

392.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$368 MYR 1,501

587.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$1,848 MYR 7,546

279.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$1,099 MYR 4,489

515.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$592 MYR 2,419

613.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

3.9

51.28%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Kota Kinabalu

$193 20.9% 86.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Kota Kinabalu

$288 31.1% 25.4% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Kota Kinabalu

$113 12.2% 64.5% $204

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Kota Kinabalu

$98 10.6% 68.8% $216

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Kota Kinabalu

$117 12.7% 31.9% $55

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Kota Kinabalu

$53 5.7% 68.7% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Kota Kinabalu

$63 6.8% 27.8% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $425 in Kota Kinabalu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 614% 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 $20.00 in Kota Kinabalu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $288 per month, with Kota Kinabalu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇲🇾 Kota Kinabalu

🕒 Local time

22:42 10:42 PM

19:42 7:42 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

500,425

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.58 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Melbourne Kota Kinabalu 5,710 km ≈ 8 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 Kota Kinabalu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kota Kinabalu wins on cost – living expenses run 211% lower than in Melbourne. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kota Kinabalu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 614% 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 $425 in Kota Kinabalu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kota Kinabalu runs roughly 238% 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 $141 in Kota Kinabalu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $917 in Kota Kinabalu versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kota Kinabalu but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Kota Kinabalu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kota Kinabalu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $917 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kota Kinabalu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Melbourne and Kota Kinabalu 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 Kota Kinabalu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 211% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.