Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rawang and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Rawang: $741 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Rawang
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Rawang Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Rawang

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$741

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $741 in Rawang versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Rawang $741
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,183 in Rawang versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Rawang $1,183
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,624 in Rawang versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Rawang $1,624
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Rawang costs roughly 74% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rawang is 45% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.75 MYR 15.31

$17.43 A$25.08

-78.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.68 MYR 80.3

$84.6 A$122

-76.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.04 MYR 20.55

$12.46 A$17.92

-59.55%

Cappuccino

$2.99 MYR 12.20

$4.11 A$5.91

-27.25%

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

$0.83 MYR 3.38

$3.06 A$4.40

-72.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.61

$2.52 A$3.62

-84.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.25 MYR 17.33

$9.80 A$14.10

-56.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 MYR 17.89

$8.57 A$12.33

-48.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 MYR 7.96

$1.48 A$2.14

31.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.26

$2.94 A$4.23

-64.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.19

$2.66 A$3.82

-33.83%

Eggs

$2.23 MYR 9.08

$5.54 A$7.97

-59.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.15 MYR 57.7

$10.51 A$15.13

34.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.48 MYR 18.29

$9.65 A$13.89

-53.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.85 MYR 40.19

$15.22 A$21.91

-35.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 MYR 12.49

$3.99 A$5.75

-23.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 MYR 7.49

$3.02 A$4.34

-39.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 MYR 10.73

$3.10 A$4.46

-15.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.44 MYR 5.89

$4.82 A$6.93

-70.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 MYR 5.37

$3.03 A$4.36

-56.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 MYR 5.43

$2.44 A$3.52

-45.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 MYR 4.80

$2.46 A$3.54

-52.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.34

$1.63 A$2.34

-65.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.54 MYR 18.53

$44.07 A$63.4

-89.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.13 MYR 78.1

$12.70 A$18.28

50.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.96 MYR 12.09

$5.54 A$7.97

-46.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.09 MYR 20.75

$5.23 A$7.52

-2.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 MYR 3.12

$3.74 A$5.38

-79.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.31 MYR 50.2

$138 A$198

-91.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MYR 6.77

$4.51 A$6.50

-63.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 MYR 1.52

$1.36 A$1.96

-72.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.88 MYR 28.05

$30.45 A$43.81

-77.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.89 MYR 3.64

$1.47 A$2.12

-39.46%

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

$42.4K MYR 173.0K

$29.0K A$41.7K

46.21%

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

$34.7K MYR 141.4K

$26.5K A$38.1K

30.92%

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

$36.56 MYR 149

$234 A$336

-84.35%

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

$9.78 MYR 39.90

$27.93 A$40.19

-64.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.31 MYR 120

$55.7 A$80.2

-47.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.87 MYR 163

$49.40 A$71.1

-19.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.13 MYR 29.08

$21.48 A$30.91

-66.81%

Cinema Ticket

$4.90 MYR 19.99

$15.09 A$21.72

-67.53%

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

$301 MYR 1,227

$2,371 A$3,412

-87.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K MYR 44.6K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-63.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 MYR 244

$80.0 A$115

-25.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.75 MYR 146

$50.7 A$73.0

-29.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.6 MYR 337

$121 A$174

-31.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.9 MYR 289

$130 A$188

-45.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$140 MYR 569

$1,759 A$2,531

-92.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$103 MYR 421

$1,390 A$2,000

-92.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 MYR 2,354

$3,494 A$5,027

-83.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$232 MYR 945

$2,493 A$3,588

-90.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,051 MYR 8,368

$6,926 A$9,967

-70.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,090 MYR 4,445

$6,445 A$9,274

-83.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,035 MYR 4,223

$4,383 A$6,307

-76.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.18

5.9

-29.15%

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

Last update for Rawang: October 11, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Rawang

$266 35.9%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 44.4% $118

Eating Out

Rawang

$116 15.6%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 171% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Rawang

$112 15.1%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 53.3% $60

Accommodation & Living

Rawang

$103 13.9%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 1246% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rawang

$76 10.2%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 320% $242

Sport & Entertainment

Rawang

$50 6.7%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 60.3% $30

Getting Around

Rawang

$19 2.6%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 767% $145

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $140 in Rawang and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 323% 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: $20.00 in Rawang vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $384 per month, with Rawang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Rawang

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

13:50 1:50 PM

16:50 4:50 PM

3 h ahead of Rawang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,000

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 = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

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 MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rawang Melbourne 6,390 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Rawang
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

Rawang vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rawang and Melbourne differ by about 281% in total monthly costs ($741 vs $2,821 including rent). Rawang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 323% 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: $140 in Rawang versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $301 in Rawang versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $741 in Rawang versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Rawang but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Rawang 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, Rawang 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 Rawang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 281% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.