Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Seremban

For one person, living is cheaper in Seremban: $794 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,300 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Seremban
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Seremban Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Seremban

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Seremban

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $794 in Seremban.

Melbourne $2,821
Seremban $794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,250 in Seremban.

Melbourne $4,235
Seremban $1,250

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,706 in Seremban.

Melbourne $5,650
Seremban $1,706

Living in Melbourne is roughly 255% more expensive than in Seremban, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Seremban is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.72 MYR 15.18

368.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$18.69 MYR 76.2

352.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$3.78 MYR 15.41

229.63%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.97 MYR 12.10

38.38%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.85 MYR 3.46

260.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.45 MYR 1.82

460.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.70 MYR 15.11

164.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$4.87 MYR 19.88

75.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.81 MYR 7.37

-18.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.10 MYR 4.50

167.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.44 MYR 5.88

84.72%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.74 MYR 7.11

218.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$18.31 MYR 74.7

-42.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$4.52 MYR 18.44

113.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$10.43 MYR 42.54

45.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.28 MYR 13.39

21.65%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.34 MYR 5.46

125.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$4.67 MYR 19.06

-33.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.37 MYR 5.60

251.82%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.03 MYR 4.21

194.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.13 MYR 4.61

115.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.25 MYR 5.09

96.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.56 MYR 2.27

191.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$4.16 MYR 16.98

959.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$14.12 MYR 57.6

-10.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.84 MYR 11.59

95.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.98 MYR 12.18

75.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.20 MYR 4.90

211.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$24.44 MYR 99.7

462.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.76 MYR 3.09

493.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.71 MYR 2.89

91.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$9.87 MYR 40.28

208.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$0.64 MYR 2.62

129.69%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$41.1K MYR 167.8K

-29.50%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$35.0K MYR 142.6K

-24.27%

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

$234 A$336

$43.82 MYR 179

433.27%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$10.58 MYR 43.15

163.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$28.23 MYR 115

97.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$66.3 MYR 271

-25.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$4.38 MYR 17.87

244.52%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$179 MYR 730

1225.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$4,511 MYR 18.4K

569.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$48.42 MYR 198

65.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$16.60 MYR 67.7

205.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$82.0 MYR 334

47.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$87.1 MYR 355

49.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$183 MYR 748

859.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$121 MYR 494

1046.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$309 MYR 1,261

1030.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$251 MYR 1,024

892.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$810 MYR 3,302

441.41%

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 Seremban: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Seremban

$121 15.3% 91.3% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Seremban

$266 33.5% 30.7% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Seremban

$83 10.4% 74% $235

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Seremban

$110 13.9% 65% $204

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Seremban

$105 13.3% 38.7% $66

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Seremban

$34 4.2% 79.5% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Seremban

$75 9.5% 5.7% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $183 in Seremban. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 441% 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 $19.00 in Seremban for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $266 per month, with Seremban cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇲🇾 Seremban

🕒 Local time

03:04 3:04 AM

00:04 12:04 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

681,541

💱 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 Seremban 6,310 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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Melbourne
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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 Seremban: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Seremban differ by about 255% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $794 including rent). Seremban is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 441% 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 $183 in Seremban. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $179 in Seremban. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $794 in Seremban versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Seremban but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Seremban 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 Seremban 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 Seremban gentler on the wallet – expenses run 255% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.