Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Timika

For one person, living is cheaper in Timika: $618 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,800 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Timika
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Timika Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Timika

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$618

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Timika

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $618 in Timika.

Melbourne $2,852
Timika $618

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $978 in Timika.

Melbourne $4,297
Timika $978

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $1,337 in Timika.

Melbourne $5,742
Timika $1,337

Living in Melbourne is roughly 361% more expensive than in Timika, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Timika is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$1.70 Rp 30.4K

944.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$13.73 Rp 245.4K

517.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$3.25 Rp 58.1K

274.15%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$1.48 Rp 26.5K

165.54%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$0.42 Rp 7,516

647.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.23 Rp 4,105

956.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$2.36 Rp 42.2K

319.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$3.50 Rp 62.5K

136.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.16 Rp 20.7K

33.62%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.06 Rp 18.9K

183.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$0.87 Rp 15.5K

231.03%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$1.47 Rp 26.3K

270.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$7.23 Rp 129.2K

46.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$2.90 Rp 51.8K

231.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$7.40 Rp 132.2K

102.57%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$2.18 Rp 38.9K

90.37%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$1.25 Rp 22.4K

144.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$1.65 Rp 29.6K

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$1.21 Rp 21.6K

293.39%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$1.28 Rp 22.9K

137.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$1.98 Rp 35.5K

28.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$0.72 Rp 12.8K

244.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.39 Rp 7,057

317.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$2.62 Rp 46.8K

1582.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$20.61 Rp 368.5K

-39.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.87 Rp 33.5K

185.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$2.98 Rp 53.3K

73.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$0.29 Rp 5,241

1224.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$0.48 Rp 8,512

816.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.35 Rp 6,168

300.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$2.81 Rp 50.3K

961.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$0.79 Rp 14.2K

84.81%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$23.0K Rp 410.4M

22.61%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$31.0K Rp 553.4M

-16.20%

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

$233 A$333

$65.1 Rp 1.2M

257.48%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$4.39 Rp 78.4K

521.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$19.32 Rp 345.4K

195.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$19.53 Rp 349.0K

169.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$8.13 Rp 145.4K

178.23%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$2.76 Rp 49.4K

519.57%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$92.0 Rp 1.6M

2478.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$7,610 Rp 136.0M

300.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$44.09 Rp 788.2K

77.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$28.50 Rp 509.4K

77.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$74.1 Rp 1.3M

62.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$71.2 Rp 1.3M

87.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$225 Rp 4.0M

661.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$148 Rp 2.7M

845.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$553 Rp 9.9M

503.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$357 Rp 6.4M

607.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$1,176 Rp 21.0M

496.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$812 Rp 14.5M

733.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

9.46

-37.63%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Timika: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Timika

$148 24% 89.4% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Timika

$193 31.2% 49.9% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Timika

$89 14.3% 72% $228

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Timika

$63 10.1% 80.1% $251

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Timika

$98 15.8% 43% $74

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Timika

$3.4 * 0.6% 98% $165

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Timika

$25 4.1% 71.2% $62

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 $225 in Timika. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $14.00 in Timika for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $193 per month, with Timika cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇮🇩 Timika

🕒 Local time

16:24 4:24 PM

14:24 2:24 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

142,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, 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 = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,875 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,048 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Timika 3,790 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Timika

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 Timika: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Timika differ by about 361% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $618 including rent). Timika 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 $927 in Timika 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 $225 in Timika. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 100% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,852 per month in Melbourne versus $618 in Timika – a 361% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $618 in Timika versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Timika but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Timika 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 Timika 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 Timika gentler on the wallet – expenses run 361% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.