Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Miri and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Miri: $814 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Miri
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Miri Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Miri

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$814

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Miri and in Melbourne

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Miri and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $814 in Miri versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Miri $814
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,247 in Miri versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Miri $1,247
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,680 in Miri versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Miri $1,680
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Miri costs roughly 71% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Miri is 39% below, Melbourne is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.43 MYR 14.02

$17.75 A$25.40

-80.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.16 MYR 49.65

$84.8 A$121

-85.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.55 MYR 18.58

$12.16 A$17.40

-62.58%

Cappuccino

$2.30 MYR 9.40

$3.93 A$5.62

-41.48%

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

$0.78 MYR 3.17

$3.14 A$4.49

-75.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 MYR 1.24

$2.43 A$3.47

-87.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 MYR 12.10

$9.90 A$14.17

-70.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.82 MYR 15.59

$8.29 A$11.86

-53.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 MYR 5.72

$1.55 A$2.21

-9.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.81 MYR 7.40

$3.01 A$4.31

-39.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 MYR 3.85

$2.88 A$4.12

-67.36%

Eggs

$3.50 MYR 14.27

$5.44 A$7.79

-35.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.79 MYR 19.58

$9.61 A$13.76

-50.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.10 MYR 61.6

$14.99 A$21.46

0.73%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MYR 8.01

$3.05 A$4.37

-35.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.47

$1.63 A$2.33

-77.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.35 MYR 17.77

$44.07 A$63.1

-90.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.28 MYR 78.7

$12.43 A$17.79

55.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 MYR 12.59

$5.33 A$7.63

-42.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 MYR 9.85

$5.16 A$7.38

-53.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MYR 2.09

$3.84 A$5.50

-86.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.41 MYR 58.8

$142 A$203

-89.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.87

$4.40 A$6.29

-72.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 MYR 2.60

$1.40 A$2.01

-54.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.05 MYR 24.71

$29.83 A$42.69

-79.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 MYR 2.64

$1.46 A$2.09

-55.48%

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

$51.0K MYR 208.3K

$28.1K A$40.3K

81.24%

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

$32.7K MYR 133.3K

$25.9K A$37.1K

25.86%

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

$49.79 MYR 203

$233 A$333

-78.60%

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

$9.53 MYR 38.91

$27.28 A$39.04

-65.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.24 MYR 136

$57.0 A$81.6

-41.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.63 MYR 121

$52.7 A$75.4

-43.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.17 MYR 25.21

$22.62 A$32.37

-72.72%

Cinema Ticket

$4.45 MYR 18.18

$17.10 A$24.48

-73.98%

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

$102 MYR 416

$2,373 A$3,397

-95.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,641 MYR 27.1K

$30.5K A$43.6K

-78.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.13 MYR 180

$78.2 A$112

-43.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.74 MYR 92.9

$50.5 A$72.2

-54.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.2 MYR 230

$121 A$172

-53.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.80 MYR 175

$133 A$191

-67.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$341 MYR 1,390

$1,713 A$2,451

-80.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$280 MYR 1,145

$1,402 A$2,006

-79.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MYR 2,435

$3,339 A$4,778

-82.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$594 MYR 2,425

$2,529 A$3,619

-76.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,219 MYR 4,977

$7,018 A$10.0K

-82.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$671 MYR 2,741

$6,767 A$9,685

-90.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$692 MYR 2,826

$4,228 A$6,051

-83.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

5.9

-30.17%

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

Last update for Miri: October 5, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Miri

$280 35.2%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 400% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Miri

$194 * 24.4%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 98.6% $191

Eating Out

Miri

$96 12%

Melbourne

$314 11% 229% $218

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Miri

$93 11.6%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 242% $224

Clothing & Footwear

Miri

$75 9.4%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 131% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Miri

$39 4.8%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 126% $48

Getting Around

Miri

$21 2.6%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 708% $147

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 $341 in Miri and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 511% 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: $12.00 in Miri vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $385 per month, with Miri cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Miri

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

12:06 12:06 PM

15:06 3:06 PM

3 h ahead of Miri

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

248,877

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.58 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

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).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Miri Melbourne 5,680 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Miri
Melbourne

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

Miri vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Miri and Melbourne differ by about 250% in total monthly costs ($814 vs $2,852 including rent). Miri is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 511% lower in Melbourne. 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: $341 in Miri versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $102 in Miri versus $2,373 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 99% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $814 in Miri versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Miri but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Miri 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, Miri and Melbourne 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 Miri gentler on the wallet – expenses run 250% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.