Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Seongnam

For one person, living is cheaper in Seongnam: $1,405 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Seongnam
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Seongnam Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Seongnam

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,405

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Seongnam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,405 in Seongnam.

Melbourne $2,821
Seongnam $1,405

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $2,330 in Seongnam.

Melbourne $4,235
Seongnam $2,330

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $3,255 in Seongnam.

Melbourne $5,650
Seongnam $3,255

Living in Melbourne is roughly 101% more expensive than in Seongnam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 109% above, Seongnam 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.61 ₩8,787

163.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$40.26 ₩53.5K

110.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$6.67 ₩8,870

86.81%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$4.16 ₩5,528

-1.20%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.59 ₩2,120

92.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.82 ₩1,093

207.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.56 ₩4,727

175.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.81 ₩5,065

124.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$2.26 ₩3,005

-34.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$3.08 ₩4,098

-4.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.59 ₩4,779

-25.91%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$3.61 ₩4,804

53.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$9.24 ₩12.3K

13.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$7.73 ₩10.3K

24.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$21.02 ₩27.9K

-27.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$7.75 ₩10.3K

-48.52%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$3.42 ₩4,552

-11.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$5.87 ₩7,808

-47.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$6.99 ₩9,288

-31.04%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.60 ₩4,793

-15.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.52 ₩3,354

-3.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$2.80 ₩3,725

-12.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$1.33 ₩1,766

22.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.45 ₩4,584

1177.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$18.42 ₩24.5K

-31.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.09 ₩2,776

165.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.82 ₩2,422

187.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.03 ₩1,368

263.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.64 ₩4,841

23.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.66 ₩876

106.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$8.86 ₩11.8K

243.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.36 ₩1,811

8.09%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$29.3K ₩39.0M

-1.05%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$28.4K ₩37.8M

-6.79%

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

$234 A$336

$207 ₩275.9K

12.62%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$36.39 ₩48.4K

-23.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$20.67 ₩27.5K

169.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$51.6 ₩68.6K

-4.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$12.09 ₩16.1K

77.67%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$10.99 ₩14.6K

37.31%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$532 ₩707.0K

345.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$17.7K ₩23.5M

70.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$57.6 ₩76.6K

38.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$32.21 ₩42.8K

57.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$69.7 ₩92.6K

73.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$81.8 ₩108.8K

59.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$478 ₩635.4K

268.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$366 ₩486.9K

279.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,168 ₩1.6M

199.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$1,035 ₩1.4M

140.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$7,163 ₩9.5M

-3.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$5,429 ₩7.2M

18.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.08

44.61%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Seongnam: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Seongnam

$366 26.1% 73.7% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Seongnam

$423 30.1% 10.2% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Seongnam

$265 18.8% 16.6% $53

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Seongnam

$158 11.2% 49.8% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Seongnam

$109 7.7% 36.8% $63

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Seongnam

$11 * 0.8% 93.3% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Seongnam

$74 5.2% 7.6% $6

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 $478 in Seongnam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $40.00 in Seongnam. Groceries flip the comparison at $384 vs $423, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇰🇷 Seongnam

🕒 Local time

10:39 10:39 AM

08:39 8:39 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

967,510

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Seongnam 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Seongnam

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 Seongnam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Seongnam differ by about 101% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,405 including rent). Seongnam is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,231 in Melbourne and $2,108 in Seongnam to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $478 in Seongnam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Melbourne pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $1,405 in Seongnam – a 101% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,405 in Seongnam versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Seongnam but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Seongnam 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 Seongnam 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 Seongnam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.