Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Muar

For one person, living is cheaper in Muar: $951 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $22,800 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Muar
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Muar Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Muar

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$951

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Muar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne versus $951 in Muar.

Melbourne $2,849
Muar $951

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,274 in Melbourne versus $1,505 in Muar.

Melbourne $4,274
Muar $1,505

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,699 in Melbourne versus $2,059 in Muar.

Melbourne $5,699
Muar $2,059

Living in Melbourne is roughly 200% more expensive than in Muar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Muar is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.88

$4.82 MYR 19.72

263.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$29.01 MYR 119

190.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.30

$3.88 MYR 15.86

213.66%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$3.05 MYR 12.46

33.44%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$0.76 MYR 3.12

318.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$0.46 MYR 1.88

443.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.61

$4.44 MYR 18.14

115.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.73

$6.27 MYR 25.63

31.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$2.13 MYR 8.72

-29.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$1.07 MYR 4.37

177.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.82

$1.85 MYR 7.58

44.86%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.76

$2.44 MYR 9.96

123.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.23

$14.25 MYR 58.3

-24.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.29

$4.44 MYR 18.17

126.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.33

$9.95 MYR 40.68

50.75%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.79

$3.36 MYR 13.75

21.13%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$1.85 MYR 7.55

69.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$2.25 MYR 9.19

38.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.73

$1.51 MYR 6.19

213.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.24

$1.22 MYR 4.97

144.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$1.37 MYR 5.60

81.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$1.16 MYR 4.74

113.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$0.71 MYR 2.91

125.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.5

$4.45 MYR 18.19

903.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.03

$19.48 MYR 79.7

-34.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.89

$3.48 MYR 14.24

59.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$4.99 MYR 20.42

3.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.46

$0.64 MYR 2.63

500.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$10.62 MYR 43.43

1206.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.20

$1.19 MYR 4.85

266.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$1.25 MYR 5.10

9.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.26

$4.87 MYR 19.93

510.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$0.81 MYR 3.32

83.95%

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

$29.1K A$41.4K

$44.4K MYR 181.6K

-34.53%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$34.9K MYR 142.5K

-26.37%

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

$236 A$335

$62.0 MYR 254

279.91%

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

$28.01 A$39.83

$8.88 MYR 36.32

215.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.4

$26.21 MYR 107

118.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$37.02 MYR 151

30.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.52

$5.79 MYR 23.66

270.64%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.12

$4.85 MYR 19.83

264.33%

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

$2,461 A$3,499

$240 MYR 981

926.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$13.3K MYR 54.5K

122.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$72.2 MYR 295

12.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.1

$41.83 MYR 171

17.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$84.3 MYR 345

41.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$96.3 MYR 394

35.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,421

$445 MYR 1,818

282.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,003

$253 MYR 1,033

457.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,971

$617 MYR 2,521

466.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,593

$518 MYR 2,117

387.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$2,001 MYR 8,180

298.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,812

$1,229 MYR 5,023

461.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,053

$603 MYR 2,465

606.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.17

41.49%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Muar: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Muar

$253 26.6% 82.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Muar

$274 28.9% 29% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Muar

$97 10.2% 69.7% $224

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Muar

$126 13.3% 59.5% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Muar

$133 14% 22.6% $39

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Muar

$21 2.2% 87.5% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Muar

$47 4.9% 44.2% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,703 in Melbourne and $445 in Muar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays about 7.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Melbourne vs $29 in Muar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $386 vs $274 per month, with Muar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇲🇾 Muar

🕒 Local time

05:14 5:14 AM

02:14 2:14 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

314,776

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.631 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 27, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 AUD (1 AUD = 0.631 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.56 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Muar 6,210 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Muar

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 Muar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Muar differ by about 200% in total monthly costs ($2,849 vs $951 including rent). Muar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Melbourne is about 7.1 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 $445 in Muar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,461 in Melbourne versus $240 in Muar. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $951 in Muar versus $2,849 in Melbourne, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Muar but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Muar the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Muar 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 Muar 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 Muar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.