Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nice and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Nice: $2,201 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Nice
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Nice Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Nice

🇫🇷 France

$2,201

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nice 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 Nice and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,201 in Nice versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Nice $2,201
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,529 in Nice versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Nice $3,529
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,857 in Nice versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Nice $4,857
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Nice costs roughly 22% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nice 63% above, Melbourne 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.28 €18.04

$17.43 A$25.08

16.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.6 €78.8

$84.6 A$122

4.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 €11.74

$12.46 A$17.92

5.94%

Cappuccino

$3.62 €3.22

$4.11 A$5.91

-11.92%

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

$3.55 €3.16

$3.06 A$4.40

16.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 €2.12

$2.52 A$3.62

-5.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.97 €7.09

$9.80 A$14.10

-18.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.98 €7.10

$8.57 A$12.33

-6.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.48 A$2.14

10.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 €1.96

$2.94 A$4.23

-24.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.66 A$3.82

2.63%

Eggs

$4.84 €4.31

$5.54 A$7.97

-12.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.93 €18.62

$10.51 A$15.13

99.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.74 €14.89

$9.65 A$13.89

73.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.14 €20.58

$15.22 A$21.91

52.04%

Apples (1kg)

$4.36 €3.88

$3.99 A$5.75

9.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.51 €2.23

$3.02 A$4.34

-16.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 €2.69

$3.10 A$4.46

-2.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.91 €3.47

$4.82 A$6.93

-18.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.76 €2.45

$3.03 A$4.36

-8.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 €2.31

$2.44 A$3.52

6.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 €1.52

$2.46 A$3.54

-30.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$1.63 A$2.34

-49.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.57 €12.07

$44.07 A$63.4

-69.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.10 €8.09

$12.70 A$18.28

-28.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.58 €3.18

$5.54 A$7.97

-35.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$5.23 A$7.52

-25.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.88 €1.67

$3.74 A$5.38

-49.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.67 €44.18

$138 A$198

-63.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 €2.93

$4.51 A$6.50

-26.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.36 A$1.96

66.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.06 €25.85

$30.45 A$43.81

-4.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.47 A$2.12

46.94%

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

$34.4K €30.6K

$29.0K A$41.7K

18.77%

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

$35.1K €31.2K

$26.5K A$38.1K

32.42%

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

$228 €203

$234 A$336

-2.43%

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

$16.38 €14.57

$27.93 A$40.19

-41.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.13 €29.47

$55.7 A$80.2

-40.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.09 €28.55

$49.40 A$71.1

-35.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.41 €30.61

$21.48 A$30.91

60.20%

Cinema Ticket

$15.42 €13.71

$15.09 A$21.72

2.19%

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

$1,535 €1,365

$2,371 A$3,412

-35.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K €15.1K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-43.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 €98.0

$80.0 A$115

37.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.35 €43.90

$50.7 A$73.0

-2.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.7

$121 A$174

-11.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$190 €169

$130 A$188

45.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 €989

$1,759 A$2,531

-36.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$831 €740

$1,390 A$2,000

-40.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,996 €1,776

$3,494 A$5,027

-42.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 €1,514

$2,493 A$3,588

-31.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,426 €6,605

$6,926 A$9,967

7.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,154 €3,695

$6,445 A$9,274

-35.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,501 €2,225

$4,383 A$6,307

-42.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

5.9

-33.90%

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

Last update for Nice: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nice

$831 37.8%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 67.1% $558

Groceries & Markets

Nice

$427 19.4%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 10.1% $43

Eating Out

Nice

$325 14.8%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 3.2% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nice

$278 12.6%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 14.4% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Nice

$205 9.3%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 16.3% $33

Getting Around

Nice

$72 3.3%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 128% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Nice

$63 2.9%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 26.5% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,112 in Nice and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 75% 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: $89.0 in Nice vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $427 vs $384 per month, with Melbourne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Nice

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

13:28 1:28 PM

22:28 10:28 PM

9 h ahead of Nice

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

348,085

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nice Melbourne 16,430 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Nice
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

Nice vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nice and Melbourne differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($2,201 vs $2,821 including rent). Nice is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 75% 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: $1,112 in Nice versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,535 in Nice versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Melbourne pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,201 in Nice versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Nice but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Nice 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, Nice 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 Nice gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.