Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Sentul

For one person, living is cheaper in Sentul: $878 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $23,300 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Sentul
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Sentul Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Sentul

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$878

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Sentul

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $878 in Sentul.

Melbourne $2,821
Sentul $878

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,334 in Sentul.

Melbourne $4,235
Sentul $1,334

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,790 in Sentul.

Melbourne $5,650
Sentul $1,790

Living in Melbourne is roughly 221% more expensive than in Sentul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Sentul is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.64 MYR 14.84

378.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$22.09 MYR 90.1

282.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.03 MYR 20.53

147.71%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.99 MYR 12.21

37.46%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.83 MYR 3.40

268.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.51 MYR 2.10

394.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.28 MYR 13.38

198.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$5.87 MYR 23.93

46.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.70 MYR 6.92

-12.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.03 MYR 4.21

185.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.42 MYR 5.80

87.32%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.74 MYR 7.11

218.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$9.66 MYR 39.39

8.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.17 MYR 12.94

204.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$9.45 MYR 38.56

61.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.25 MYR 13.26

22.77%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.68 MYR 6.87

79.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.65 MYR 10.81

16.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.60 MYR 6.53

201.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.46 MYR 5.97

107.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.64 MYR 6.70

48.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.32 MYR 5.38

86.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.51 MYR 2.08

219.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$4.16 MYR 16.99

959.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$13.89 MYR 56.7

-8.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.65 MYR 10.81

109.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$3.11 MYR 12.68

68.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.81 MYR 3.31

361.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$12.06 MYR 49.19

1040.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.96 MYR 3.91

369.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.38 MYR 1.57

257.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$8.97 MYR 36.60

239.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$0.87 MYR 3.54

68.97%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$41.2K MYR 168.2K

-29.64%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$32.5K MYR 132.7K

-18.63%

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

$234 A$336

$49.70 MYR 203

370.18%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$8.10 MYR 33.04

244.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$27.39 MYR 112

103.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$41.09 MYR 168

20.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$7.45 MYR 30.40

188.32%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$5.04 MYR 20.57

199.40%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$161 MYR 658

1370.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$4,446 MYR 18.1K

579.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$50.5 MYR 206

58.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$16.38 MYR 66.8

209.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$77.1 MYR 315

56.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$85.6 MYR 349

52.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$348 MYR 1,419

405.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$282 MYR 1,150

392.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$707 MYR 2,883

394.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$484 MYR 1,976

414.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,147 MYR 8,759

222.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,058 MYR 4,315

509.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$890 MYR 3,631

392.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.06

45.32%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sentul: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Sentul

$282 32.1% 79.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Sentul

$224 25.6% 41.6% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Sentul

$85 9.7% 73.2% $232

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Sentul

$114 12.9% 63.9% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Sentul

$103 11.8% 39.8% $68

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Sentul

$18 2.1% 88.9% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Sentul

$51 5.8% 35.7% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $348 in Sentul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 392% 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 $22.00 in Sentul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $224 per month, with Sentul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇲🇾 Sentul

🕒 Local time

14:19 2:19 PM

11:19 11:19 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

100,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Sentul 6,370 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Sentul

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 Sentul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Sentul differ by about 221% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $878 including rent). Sentul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 392% 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 $348 in Sentul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $161 in Sentul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $878 in Sentul versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sentul but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Sentul 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 Sentul 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 Sentul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 221% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.