Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Samarinda

For one person, living is cheaper in Samarinda: $647 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,100 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Samarinda
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Samarinda Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Samarinda

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Samarinda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $647 in Samarinda.

Melbourne $2,821
Samarinda $647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,021 in Samarinda.

Melbourne $4,235
Samarinda $1,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,395 in Samarinda.

Melbourne $5,650
Samarinda $1,395

Living in Melbourne is roughly 336% more expensive than in Samarinda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Samarinda is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

925.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$13.69 Rp 246.4K

517.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$3.35 Rp 60.2K

271.94%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

168.63%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.44 Rp 7,903

595.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.25 Rp 4,499

908.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.27 Rp 40.9K

331.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

148.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

38.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

254.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.71 Rp 12.8K

274.65%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.40 Rp 25.3K

295.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$7.21 Rp 129.9K

45.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.61 Rp 65.0K

167.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$10.04 Rp 180.7K

51.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.14 Rp 92.4K

-22.37%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

172.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$1.09 Rp 19.5K

184.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.47 Rp 26.5K

227.89%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

129.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

38.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.75 Rp 13.6K

228.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.51 Rp 9,097

219.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.08 Rp 37.4K

2018.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$21.04 Rp 378.7K

-39.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.60 Rp 28.8K

246.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.52 Rp 45.4K

107.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.30 Rp 5,403

1146.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.50 Rp 8,935

802.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.34 Rp 6,183

300.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$2.67 Rp 48.0K

1040.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

81.48%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$26.8K Rp 482.4M

8.21%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$31.1K Rp 559.1M

-14.77%

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

$234 A$336

$67.2 Rp 1.2M

247.53%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$4.75 Rp 85.5K

488.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$18.78 Rp 338.0K

196.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$19.72 Rp 354.9K

150.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$8.94 Rp 160.9K

140.27%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$2.75 Rp 49.4K

448.73%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$89.9 Rp 1.6M

2537.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$8,095 Rp 145.7M

273.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$47.77 Rp 859.9K

67.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$32.33 Rp 582.0K

56.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$76.9 Rp 1.4M

56.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$74.1 Rp 1.3M

76.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$195 Rp 3.5M

800.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$148 Rp 2.7M

841.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$491 Rp 8.8M

612.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$338 Rp 6.1M

637.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$1,107 Rp 19.9M

525.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$730 Rp 13.1M

782.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$336 Rp 6.0M

1204.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

9.46

-37.63%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Samarinda: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Samarinda

$148 22.8% 89.4% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Samarinda

$213 32.9% 44.5% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Samarinda

$91 14% 71.4% $227

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Samarinda

$63 9.7% 80% $252

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Samarinda

$104 16.1% 39.4% $68

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Samarinda

$3.4 * 0.5% 97.9% $160

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Samarinda

$25 3.9% 68.3% $54

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 $195 in Samarinda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 1204% 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 $14.00 in Samarinda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $213 per month, with Samarinda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇮🇩 Samarinda

🕒 Local time

14:58 2:58 PM

11:58 11:58 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

726,223

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, 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).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Samarinda 5,030 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Samarinda

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 Samarinda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Samarinda differ by about 336% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $647 including rent). Samarinda is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1204% 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 $195 in Samarinda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 80% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $647 in Samarinda – a 336% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $647 in Samarinda versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Samarinda but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Samarinda 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 Samarinda 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 Samarinda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 336% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.