Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and New Plymouth

For one person, living is cheaper in New Plymouth: $1,821 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in New Plymouth
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New Plymouth Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

New Plymouth

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in New Plymouth

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,821 in New Plymouth.

Melbourne $2,821
New Plymouth $1,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $2,787 in New Plymouth.

Melbourne $4,235
New Plymouth $2,787

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $3,753 in New Plymouth.

Melbourne $5,650
New Plymouth $3,753

Living in Melbourne is roughly 55% more expensive than in New Plymouth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 109% above, New Plymouth 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$11.79 NZ$20.86

47.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$66.5 NZ$118

27.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$8.42 NZ$14.89

47.98%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.31 NZ$5.85

24.17%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$2.10 NZ$3.71

45.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$1.84 NZ$3.25

36.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$5.25 NZ$9.28

86.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$5.51 NZ$9.75

55.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.46 NZ$2.58

1.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.25 NZ$2.21

135.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.62 NZ$2.86

64.20%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$5.35 NZ$9.47

3.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$5.48 NZ$9.69

91.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$7.23 NZ$12.79

33.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$11.60 NZ$20.52

31.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.45 NZ$4.33

62.86%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.90 NZ$3.36

58.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.95 NZ$5.22

5.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$6.26 NZ$11.08

-23.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.03 NZ$3.60

49.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.40 NZ$2.48

74.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.77 NZ$3.14

38.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$1.26 NZ$2.22

29.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$22.05 NZ$39.00

99.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.41 NZ$14.88

51.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.90 NZ$5.14

91.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$3.76 NZ$6.65

39.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.70 NZ$3.00

120.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$74.3 NZ$131

85.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.61 NZ$6.39

24.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.65 NZ$2.92

-10.91%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$26.4K NZ$46.8K

9.70%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$22.6K NZ$39.9K

17.29%

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

$234 A$336

$127 NZ$225

83.83%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$27.63 NZ$48.87

1.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$47.97 NZ$84.8

16.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$42.55 NZ$75.3

16.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$8.00 NZ$14.14

88.63%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$669 NZ$1,183

254.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$22.8K NZ$40.2K

32.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$61.6 NZ$109

29.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$38.35 NZ$67.8

32.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$87.7 NZ$155

37.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$103 NZ$182

27.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$911 NZ$1,612

93.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$853 NZ$1,508

62.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,719 NZ$3,040

103.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$1,542 NZ$2,727

61.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,136 NZ$5,547

120.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$2,566 NZ$4,539

151.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$2,766 NZ$4,891

58.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

5.93

-0.51%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for New Plymouth: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

New Plymouth

$853 46.8% 38.6% $537

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

New Plymouth

$279 15.3% 27.3% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

New Plymouth

$203 11.1% 36.1% $115

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

New Plymouth

$212 11.7% 32.5% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

New Plymouth

$131 7.2% 23.9% $41

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

New Plymouth

$85 * 4.7% 48.3% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

New Plymouth

$59 3.2% 26.4% $21

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 $1,759 in Melbourne and $911 in New Plymouth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 58% 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 $67.0 in New Plymouth for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $279 per month, with New Plymouth cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇳🇿 New Plymouth

🕒 Local time

03:54 3:54 AM

05:54 5:54 AM

2 h ahead of Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

58,400

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne New Plymouth 2,530 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
New Plymouth

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 New Plymouth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and New Plymouth differ by about 55% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,821 including rent). New Plymouth is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 58% 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: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $911 in New Plymouth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $669 in New Plymouth. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,821 in New Plymouth versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $3,000 budget is realistic in New Plymouth but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.