Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Nadi

For one person, living is cheaper in Nadi: $1,368 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Nadi
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Nadi Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Nadi

🇫🇯 Fiji

$1,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Nadi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $1,368 in Nadi.

Melbourne $2,852
Nadi $1,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $2,030 in Nadi.

Melbourne $4,297
Nadi $2,030

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $2,691 in Nadi.

Melbourne $5,742
Nadi $2,691

Living in Melbourne is roughly 108% more expensive than in Nadi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 113% above, Nadi 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.49

$9.15 FJD 20.49

93.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$122

$37.13 FJD 83.1

128.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.46

$8.77 FJD 19.63

38.65%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.64

$4.39 FJD 9.83

-10.48%

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

$3.14 A$4.51

$1.44 FJD 3.23

118.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.49

$1.27 FJD 2.84

91.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.22

$2.60 FJD 5.82

280.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.91

$4.41 FJD 9.88

87.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.22

$1.40 FJD 3.13

10.71%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.32

$1.09 FJD 2.43

176.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.14

$1.30 FJD 2.90

121.54%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.82

$2.98 FJD 6.67

82.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.22

$12.30 FJD 27.54

-13.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.81

$13.51 FJD 30.25

-28.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.54

$15.65 FJD 35.03

-4.22%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.96

$3.00 FJD 6.71

38.33%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.38

$2.84 FJD 6.37

7.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.74

$3.68 FJD 8.25

-10.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.83

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.36

$2.03 FJD 4.55

49.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.66

$1.95 FJD 4.36

30.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.56

$1.14 FJD 2.55

117.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.97 FJD 2.17

68.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.3

$9.10 FJD 20.38

384.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.85

$9.97 FJD 22.31

24.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.65

$2.67 FJD 5.98

99.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.41

$3.37 FJD 7.55

53.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.52

$0.70 FJD 1.57

448.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.32

$1.13 FJD 2.54

289.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.42 FJD 0.94

233.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.84

$4.83 FJD 10.82

517.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.27 FJD 2.83

14.96%

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

$28.1K A$40.4K

$24.6K FJD 55.0K

14.64%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$21.9K FJD 48.9K

18.70%

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

$233 A$334

$66.9 FJD 150

247.71%

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

$27.28 A$39.19

$17.84 FJD 39.93

52.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.9

$22.80 FJD 51.1

150.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.7

$37.41 FJD 83.8

40.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.49

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.57

$5.38 FJD 12.04

217.84%

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

$2,373 A$3,409

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$28.44 FJD 63.7

175.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.5

$44.49 FJD 99.6

13.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$58.3 FJD 130

106.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$66.7 FJD 149

99.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,460

$1,129 FJD 2,527

51.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,014

$646 FJD 1,447

116.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,796

$1,697 FJD 3,800

96.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,632

$1,006 FJD 2,251

151.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.1K

$693 FJD 1,551

913.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,721

$523 FJD 1,171

1194.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,074

$821 FJD 1,838

415.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

7.25

-18.62%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Nadi: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Nadi

$646 46.5% 53.9% $756

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Nadi

$306 * 22.1% 20.5% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Nadi

$108 7.8% 66.1% $209

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Nadi

$185 13.3% 41.1% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Nadi

$89 6.4% 48.2% $83

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Nadi

$6 * 0.4% 96.4% $162

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Nadi

$48 3.5% 44.6% $39

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $1,129 in Nadi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 415% 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 $37.00 in Nadi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $306 per month, with Nadi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇫🇯 Nadi

🕒 Local time

18:01 6:01 PM

19:01 7:01 PM

1 h ahead of Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

50,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Fijian Dollar FJD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.398 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

FJD, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Fijian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.24 FJD (1 FJD = 0.447 USD). 1 EUR = 2.51 FJD (1 FJD = 0.398 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Nadi 3,860 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Nadi

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 Nadi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Nadi differ by about 108% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $1,368 including rent). Nadi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 415% 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 $1,129 in Nadi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nadi – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,852 per month in Melbourne versus $1,368 in Nadi – a 108% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,368 in Nadi versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nadi but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Nadi 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 Nadi 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 Nadi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.