Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Papua New Guinea

Name: Papua New Guinea
Address: PG

For one person, living is cheaper in Papua New Guinea: $1,325 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Papua New Guinea
Learn more

Papua New Guinea Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,325

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Melbourne is 50.4% more expensive than Papua New Guinea without rent, and 115.2% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Melbourne is 55.3% more expensive than Papua New Guinea without rent, and 89.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$7.14 PGK 31.29

148.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$44.69 PGK 196

89.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$5.55 PGK 24.32

119.10%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$2.34 PGK 10.24

67.95%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.76 PGK 3.33

313.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.65 PGK 2.86

273.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$2.62 PGK 11.47

277.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$3.86 PGK 16.90

114.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.92 PGK 8.43

-19.27%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.53 PGK 6.73

96.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$1.36 PGK 5.96

111.76%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$3.81 PGK 16.69

42.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$6.27 PGK 27.49

68.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$6.00 PGK 26.29

60.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$9.33 PGK 40.88

60.66%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$4.01 PGK 17.56

3.49%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$3.35 PGK 14.69

-8.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$6.17 PGK 27.05

-46.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$5.13 PGK 22.47

-7.21%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$3.65 PGK 16.00

-16.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$2.74 PGK 12.03

-6.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$2.00 PGK 8.77

24.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$1.14 PGK 4.97

42.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$6.37 PGK 27.94

591.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$10.54 PGK 46.21

17.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$2.58 PGK 11.29

106.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$3.66 PGK 16.03

40.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.43 PGK 1.87

793.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$25.43 PGK 111

456.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$4.95 PGK 21.70

-11.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$2.23 PGK 9.78

-37.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$14.19 PGK 62.2

110.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$0.95 PGK 4.15

53.68%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$28.7K PGK 125.6K

-1.82%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$22.7K PGK 99.6K

14.20%

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

$233 A$333

$93.1 PGK 408

149.95%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$27.52 PGK 121

-0.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$116 PGK 506

-50.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$63.5 PGK 278

-17.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$24.15 PGK 106

-6.34%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$8.99 PGK 39.42

90.21%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$526 PGK 2,307

350.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$5,532 PGK 24.2K

450.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$35.26 PGK 155

121.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$30.74 PGK 135

64.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$69.0 PGK 302

74.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$92.3 PGK 404

44.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$1,597 PGK 6,998

7.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$444 PGK 1,946

215.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$2,846 PGK 12.5K

17.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$1,033 PGK 4,525

144.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$2,005 PGK 8,789

249.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$3,785 PGK 16.6K

78.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$418 PGK 1,833

910.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

13.67

-56.84%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Papua New Guinea: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Papua New Guinea

$444 33.2% 68.3% $958

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Papua New Guinea

$302 22.6% 21.6% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Papua New Guinea

$236 17.7% 25.5% $81

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Papua New Guinea

$128 9.6% 59.1% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Papua New Guinea

$102 7.7% 40.6% $70

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Papua New Guinea

$43 3.2% 74.3% $125

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Papua New Guinea

$81 6.1% 6.2% $5.4

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

🕒 Local time

23:36 11:36 PM

22:36 10:36 PM

1 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

8,935,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.204 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, 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).

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.204 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Papua New Guinea 3,160 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Papua New Guinea

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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