Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Melbourne: $2,852 a month against $3,454 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Singapore outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
168

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,454

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Singapore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $3,454 in Singapore.

Melbourne $2,852
Singapore $3,454

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $5,224 in Singapore.

Melbourne $4,297
Singapore $5,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $6,994 in Singapore.

Melbourne $5,742
Singapore $6,994

Living in Melbourne costs roughly 17% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 113% above, Singapore 158% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.49

$11.53 SGD 14.77

53.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$122

$71.2 SGD 91.2

19.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.46

$8.76 SGD 11.22

38.81%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.64

$5.25 SGD 6.73

-25.14%

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

$3.14 A$4.51

$1.83 SGD 2.34

71.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.49

$1.25 SGD 1.60

94.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.22

$8.42 SGD 10.79

17.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.91

$10.02 SGD 12.83

-17.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.22

$2.94 SGD 3.76

-47.28%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.32

$2.47 SGD 3.16

21.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.14

$2.71 SGD 3.47

6.27%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.82

$3.73 SGD 4.77

45.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.22

$21.54 SGD 27.58

-50.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.81

$9.52 SGD 12.20

0.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.54

$25.98 SGD 33.27

-42.30%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.96

$4.48 SGD 5.74

-7.37%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.38

$3.11 SGD 3.99

-1.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.74

$4.62 SGD 5.92

-28.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.83

$2.23 SGD 2.86

113.45%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.36

$2.50 SGD 3.20

21.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.66

$2.38 SGD 3.05

7.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.56

$1.78 SGD 2.28

39.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$1.51 SGD 1.93

7.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.3

$14.18 SGD 18.16

210.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.85

$23.79 SGD 30.47

-47.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.65

$4.51 SGD 5.78

18.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.41

$4.57 SGD 5.86

12.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.52

$1.58 SGD 2.03

143.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$96.4 SGD 123

46.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.32

$3.63 SGD 4.65

21.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.80 SGD 1.02

75.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.84

$16.18 SGD 20.72

84.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$2.51 SGD 3.21

-41.83%

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

$28.1K A$40.4K

$155.9K SGD 199.6K

-81.94%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$145.8K SGD 186.7K

-82.20%

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

$233 A$334

$175 SGD 224

32.93%

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

$27.28 A$39.19

$12.45 SGD 15.94

119.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.9

$26.64 SGD 34.11

114.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.7

$112 SGD 143

-52.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.49

$12.07 SGD 15.46

87.41%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.57

$11.60 SGD 14.85

47.41%

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

$2,373 A$3,409

$1,463 SGD 1,874

62.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.8K

$28.4K SGD 36.3K

7.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$81.5 SGD 104

-3.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.5

$50.6 SGD 64.8

-0.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$112 SGD 143

7.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$130 SGD 166

2.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,460

$2,916 SGD 3,734

-41.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,014

$2,128 SGD 2,725

-34.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,796

$5,654 SGD 7,241

-40.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,632

$3,968 SGD 5,081

-36.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.1K

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

-70.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,721

$16.8K SGD 21.5K

-59.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,074

$4,369 SGD 5,594

-3.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.44

141.80%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Singapore

$2.1K 61.4% 51.8% $726

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Singapore

$457 13.2% 18.7% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Singapore

$214 6.2% 32.5% $103

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Singapore

$256 7.4% 18.4% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Singapore

$168 4.9% 2.3% $4

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Singapore

$110 3.2% 34.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Singapore

$135 3.9% 55.1% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $2,916 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 3% 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 $71.0 in Singapore. Groceries flip the comparison at $385 vs $457, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

12:10 12:10 PM

09:10 9:10 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.696 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 SGD (1 SGD = 0.696 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Singapore 6,060 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Singapore

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 Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Singapore differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $3,454 including rent). Melbourne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Singapore. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $2,916 in Singapore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $1,463 in Singapore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Singapore. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Melbourne is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Singapore 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 Melbourne gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.