Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Queenstown and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Queenstown: $2,380 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
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Queenstown Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,380

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,380 in Queenstown versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Queenstown $2,380
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,738 in Queenstown versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Queenstown $3,738
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,096 in Queenstown versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Queenstown $5,096
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Queenstown costs roughly 17% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Queenstown 78% above, Melbourne 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.19 NZ$25.28

$17.75 A$25.40

-20.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.4 NZ$109

$84.8 A$121

-27.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 NZ$16.38

$12.16 A$17.40

-24.42%

Cappuccino

$3.13 NZ$5.57

$3.93 A$5.62

-20.36%

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

$2.02 NZ$3.61

$3.14 A$4.49

-35.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 NZ$3.57

$2.43 A$3.47

-17.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.80 NZ$12.11

$9.90 A$14.17

-31.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 NZ$11.16

$8.29 A$11.86

-24.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.15 NZ$3.82

$1.55 A$2.21

38.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 NZ$3.46

$3.01 A$4.31

-35.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 NZ$3.04

$2.88 A$4.12

-40.63%

Eggs

$5.67 NZ$10.10

$5.44 A$7.79

4.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.10 NZ$14.43

$10.59 A$15.16

-23.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 NZ$17.62

$9.61 A$13.76

2.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.72 NZ$28.02

$14.99 A$21.46

4.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 NZ$5.11

$4.15 A$5.94

-30.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 NZ$4.01

$3.05 A$4.37

-26.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.68 NZ$6.55

$3.30 A$4.72

11.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.27 NZ$9.38

$4.76 A$6.81

10.71%

Potato (1kg)

$3.41 NZ$6.08

$3.04 A$4.34

12.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 NZ$3.28

$2.55 A$3.65

-27.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 NZ$4.18

$2.48 A$3.55

-5.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 NZ$3.37

$1.63 A$2.33

15.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$27.36 NZ$48.75

$44.07 A$63.1

-37.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.90 NZ$15.85

$12.43 A$17.79

-28.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.44 NZ$7.91

$5.33 A$7.63

-16.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.40 NZ$11.40

$5.16 A$7.38

24.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.44 NZ$2.56

$3.84 A$5.50

-62.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$119 NZ$212

$142 A$203

-15.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 NZ$4.61

$4.40 A$6.29

-41.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 NZ$3.32

$1.40 A$2.01

33.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.12 NZ$51.9

$29.83 A$42.69

-2.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 NZ$3.06

$1.46 A$2.09

17.81%

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

$24.9K NZ$44.4K

$28.1K A$40.3K

-11.48%

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

$23.2K NZ$41.4K

$25.9K A$37.1K

-10.43%

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

$112 NZ$199

$233 A$333

-51.93%

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

$28.02 NZ$49.93

$27.28 A$39.04

2.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 NZ$91.8

$57.0 A$81.6

-9.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.3 NZ$96.8

$52.7 A$75.4

3.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.80 NZ$47.75

$22.62 A$32.37

18.48%

Cinema Ticket

$10.41 NZ$18.54

$17.10 A$24.48

-39.12%

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

$973 NZ$1,734

$2,373 A$3,397

-59.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,592 NZ$13.5K

$30.5K A$43.6K

-75.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.2 NZ$104

$78.2 A$112

-25.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.11 NZ$80.4

$50.5 A$72.2

-10.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 NZ$161

$121 A$172

-25.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 NZ$242

$133 A$191

2.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,512 NZ$2,693

$1,713 A$2,451

-11.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,270 NZ$2,263

$1,402 A$2,006

-9.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 NZ$5,084

$3,339 A$4,778

-14.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,522 NZ$4,493

$2,529 A$3,619

-0.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,599 NZ$13.5K

$7,018 A$10.0K

8.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,285 NZ$9,417

$6,767 A$9,685

-21.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,052 NZ$5,438

$4,228 A$6,051

-27.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.12

5.9

3.73%

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

Last update for Queenstown: 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

Queenstown

$1.3K 52.5%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 10.4% $132

Groceries & Markets

Queenstown

$359 14.8%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 7.3% $26

Eating Out

Queenstown

$241 10%

Melbourne

$314 11% 30.2% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Queenstown

$191 7.9%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 65.6% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Queenstown

$148 6.1%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 16.1% $24

Getting Around

Queenstown

$137 5.7%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 23.1% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Queenstown

$75 3.1%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 15.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,512 in Queenstown and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 39% 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: $61.0 in Queenstown vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $359 vs $385 per month, with Queenstown cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

20:15 8:15 PM

18:15 6:15 PM

2 h behind Queenstown

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,450

5,031,195

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.5 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 2 NZD (1 NZD = 0.5 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 NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Queenstown Melbourne 2,120 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Queenstown
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

Queenstown vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Queenstown and Melbourne differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($2,380 vs $2,852 including rent). Queenstown is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 39% 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: $1,512 in Queenstown versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $973 in Queenstown 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 7% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,380 in Queenstown versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Queenstown but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Queenstown 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, Queenstown 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 Queenstown gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.