Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Taipa

For one person, living is cheaper in Taipa: $2,021 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
98

Cost of Living Index in Taipa
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Taipa Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Taipa

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,021

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Taipa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $2,021 in Taipa.

Melbourne $2,852
Taipa $2,021

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $3,175 in Taipa.

Melbourne $4,297
Taipa $3,175

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $4,330 in Taipa.

Melbourne $5,742
Taipa $4,330

Living in Melbourne is roughly 41% more expensive than in Taipa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 113% above, Taipa 51% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$6.30 MOP 50.9

181.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$56.6 MOP 458

49.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$5.96 MOP 48.13

104.03%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$4.87 MOP 39.38

-19.30%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.77 MOP 6.21

307.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.36 MOP 2.90

575.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$5.87 MOP 47.47

68.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$7.20 MOP 58.2

15.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$3.14 MOP 25.41

-50.64%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.76 MOP 14.19

71.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$1.73 MOP 13.97

66.47%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$3.35 MOP 27.06

62.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$16.42 MOP 133

-35.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$19.52 MOP 158

-50.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$28.67 MOP 232

-47.72%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$2.66 MOP 21.49

56.02%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$2.92 MOP 23.58

4.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.90 MOP 15.32

73.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$2.37 MOP 19.14

100.84%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$4.04 MOP 32.67

-24.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$2.83 MOP 22.91

-9.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.62 MOP 5.03

300.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$1.18 MOP 9.54

38.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$6.88 MOP 55.6

540.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$12.16 MOP 98.3

2.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.78 MOP 14.35

199.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$2.26 MOP 18.27

128.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$2.55 MOP 20.64

72.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.25 MOP 10.06

12.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$15.06 MOP 122

98.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.83 MOP 14.81

-20.22%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$31.5K MOP 254.6K

-10.64%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$31.8K MOP 257.1K

-18.44%

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

$233 A$333

$122 MOP 984

91.10%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$23.67 MOP 191

15.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$36.90 MOP 298

54.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$73.7 MOP 596

-28.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$3.74 MOP 30.22

504.81%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$12.47 MOP 101

37.13%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$1,203 MOP 9,723

97.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$18.7K MOP 150.8K

63.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$69.9 MOP 565

11.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$34.04 MOP 275

48.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$93.2 MOP 754

29.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$138 MOP 1,113

-3.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$1,065 MOP 8,607

60.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$1,001 MOP 8,089

40.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$2,130 MOP 17.2K

56.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$1,891 MOP 15.3K

33.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$15.9K MOP 128.2K

-55.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$13.6K MOP 109.8K

-50.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

96.67%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Taipa: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Taipa

$1K 49.1% 28.6% $401

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Taipa

$425 20.8% 10.2% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Taipa

$182 8.9% 42.5% $135

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Taipa

$175 8.6% 44.2% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Taipa

$151 7.4% 12.4% $21

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Taipa

$8.8 * 0.4% 94.8% $160

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Taipa

$99 4.8% 13.5% $12

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 $1,713 in Melbourne and $1,065 in Taipa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $57.0 in Taipa. Groceries flip the comparison at $385 vs $425, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇲🇴 Taipa

🕒 Local time

22:59 10:59 PM

19:59 7:59 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

78,497

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Macanese Pataca MOP P

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MOP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 MOP (1 MOP = 0.11 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Taipa 7,430 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Taipa

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 Taipa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Taipa differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $2,021 including rent). Taipa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,277 in Melbourne and $3,031 in Taipa 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: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $1,065 in Taipa. 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 $2,852 per month in Melbourne versus $2,021 in Taipa – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,021 in Taipa versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Taipa but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Taipa 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 Taipa 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 Taipa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.