Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and New Zealand

Name: New Zealand
Address: NZ

For one person, living is cheaper in New Zealand: $2,026 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 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
99

Cost of Living Index in New Zealand
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New Zealand Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,026

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Melbourne is 27.9% more expensive than New Zealand without rent, and 40.7% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Melbourne is 22.2% more expensive than New Zealand without rent, and 44.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$14.03 NZ$25.00

26.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$67.1 NZ$120

26.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$9.11 NZ$16.23

33.48%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$3.26 NZ$5.82

20.55%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$2.18 NZ$3.88

44.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$1.87 NZ$3.34

29.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$6.69 NZ$11.93

47.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$6.77 NZ$12.06

22.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.73 NZ$3.09

-10.40%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.86 NZ$3.31

61.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$1.78 NZ$3.16

61.80%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$5.96 NZ$10.63

-8.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$8.07 NZ$14.38

31.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$9.39 NZ$16.74

2.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$13.96 NZ$24.88

7.38%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$2.73 NZ$4.87

52.01%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$2.09 NZ$3.73

45.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$2.94 NZ$5.24

12.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$4.98 NZ$8.87

-4.42%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$2.02 NZ$3.60

50.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$1.48 NZ$2.64

72.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$2.05 NZ$3.64

20.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$1.05 NZ$1.88

55.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$23.61 NZ$42.06

86.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$8.93 NZ$15.92

39.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$3.01 NZ$5.37

77.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$3.15 NZ$5.62

63.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$1.85 NZ$3.30

107.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$100 NZ$179

40.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$2.26 NZ$4.02

94.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.90 NZ$3.38

-26.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$32.21 NZ$57.4

-7.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.68 NZ$3.00

-13.10%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$24.9K NZ$44.3K

13.12%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$23.7K NZ$42.2K

9.56%

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

$233 A$333

$155 NZ$277

49.67%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$31.36 NZ$55.9

-13.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$47.95 NZ$85.5

18.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$34.82 NZ$62.1

51.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$14.77 NZ$26.33

53.15%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$11.38 NZ$20.27

50.26%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$879 NZ$1,566

170.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$16.4K NZ$29.3K

85.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$68.7 NZ$122

13.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$35.27 NZ$62.8

43.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$91.6 NZ$163

31.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$117 NZ$208

14.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$1,076 NZ$1,918

59.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$921 NZ$1,641

52.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$1,724 NZ$3,072

93.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$1,477 NZ$2,631

71.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$5,621 NZ$10.0K

24.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$3,602 NZ$6,418

87.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$2,752 NZ$4,903

53.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

6.27

-5.90%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for New Zealand: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

New Zealand

$921 45.4% 34.3% $481

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

New Zealand

$312 15.4% 19% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

New Zealand

$235 11.6% 25.9% $82

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

New Zealand

$242 11.9% 22.9% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

New Zealand

$141 6.9% 18.3% $32

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

New Zealand

$120 5.9% 28.9% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

New Zealand

$58 2.8% 33.7% $29

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇳🇿 New Zealand

🕒 Local time

20:48 8:48 PM

22:48 10:48 PM

2 h ahead of Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

5,118,700

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.501 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 2 NZD (1 NZD = 0.501 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne New Zealand 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
New Zealand

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.

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