Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Pangyo

For one person, living is cheaper in Pangyo: $1,460 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 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
72

Cost of Living Index in Pangyo
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Pangyo Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Pangyo

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,460

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Pangyo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $1,460 in Pangyo.

Melbourne $2,852
Pangyo $1,460

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $2,303 in Pangyo.

Melbourne $4,297
Pangyo $2,303

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $3,145 in Pangyo.

Melbourne $5,742
Pangyo $3,145

Living in Melbourne is roughly 95% more expensive than in Pangyo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 113% above, Pangyo 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$7.17 ₩9,612

147.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$30.05 ₩40.3K

182.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$6.54 ₩8,768

85.93%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$4.03 ₩5,394

-2.48%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$1.51 ₩2,023

107.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.71 ₩953

242.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$2.96 ₩3,973

234.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$3.98 ₩5,335

108.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$2.30 ₩3,084

-32.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$3.19 ₩4,274

-5.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$2.74 ₩3,674

5.11%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$2.69 ₩3,607

102.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$10.88 ₩14.6K

-2.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$7.91 ₩10.6K

21.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$21.43 ₩28.7K

-30.05%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$7.68 ₩10.3K

-45.96%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$3.62 ₩4,847

-15.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$7.50 ₩10.1K

-56.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$6.11 ₩8,182

-22.09%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$3.62 ₩4,848

-16.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$2.68 ₩3,587

-4.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$2.78 ₩3,732

-10.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$1.28 ₩1,715

27.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.45 ₩4,624

1177.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$18.84 ₩25.3K

-34.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$2.29 ₩3,071

132.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$3.46 ₩4,639

49.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$1.10 ₩1,476

249.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$47.53 ₩63.7K

197.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$3.36 ₩4,504

30.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.66 ₩882

112.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$13.05 ₩17.5K

128.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.41 ₩1,887

3.55%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$30.8K ₩41.2M

-8.48%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$38.4K ₩51.4M

-32.42%

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

$233 A$333

$199 ₩266.8K

16.84%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$36.74 ₩49.2K

-25.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$22.15 ₩29.7K

157.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$51.2 ₩68.6K

2.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$11.91 ₩16.0K

89.92%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$11.13 ₩14.9K

53.64%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$526 ₩704.4K

351.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$21.7K ₩29.0M

40.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$65.7 ₩88.0K

19.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$64.1 ₩85.9K

-21.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$74.5 ₩99.8K

61.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$101 ₩135.3K

31.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$478 ₩641.1K

257.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$361 ₩483.8K

288.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$1,182 ₩1.6M

182.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$735 ₩985.5K

243.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$7,053 ₩9.5M

-0.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$5,546 ₩7.4M

22.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$5,262 ₩7.1M

-19.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.1

43.90%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Pangyo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Pangyo

$361 24.4% 74.2% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Pangyo

$433 29.3% 12.3% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Pangyo

$258 17.5% 18.6% $59

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Pangyo

$157 10.6% 50% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Pangyo

$137 9.3% 20.2% $35

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Pangyo

$59 4% 65.2% $110

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Pangyo

$73 5% 15.5% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $478 in Pangyo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pangyo pays 24% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $30.00 in Pangyo. Groceries flip the comparison at $385 vs $433, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇰🇷 Pangyo

🕒 Local time

19:24 7:24 PM

17:24 5:24 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, 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 = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,503 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Pangyo 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Pangyo

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 Pangyo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Pangyo differ by about 95% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $1,460 including rent). Pangyo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Pangyo. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $478 in Pangyo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $526 in Pangyo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Melbourne pay roughly 12% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,460 in Pangyo versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pangyo but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Pangyo 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 Pangyo 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 Pangyo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 95% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.