Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samarinda and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Samarinda: $647 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Samarinda
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Samarinda Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Samarinda

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$647

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $647 in Samarinda versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Samarinda $647
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,021 in Samarinda versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Samarinda $1,021
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,395 in Samarinda versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Samarinda $1,395
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Samarinda costs roughly 77% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Samarinda is 52% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

$17.43 A$25.08

-90.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.69 Rp 246.4K

$84.6 A$122

-83.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.35 Rp 60.2K

$12.46 A$17.92

-73.11%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$4.11 A$5.91

-62.77%

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

$0.44 Rp 7,903

$3.06 A$4.40

-85.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,499

$2.52 A$3.62

-90.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 Rp 40.9K

$9.80 A$14.10

-76.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

$8.57 A$12.33

-59.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

$1.48 A$2.14

-27.70%

White Bread (500g)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$2.94 A$4.23

-71.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 Rp 12.8K

$2.66 A$3.82

-73.31%

Eggs

$1.40 Rp 25.3K

$5.54 A$7.97

-74.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.21 Rp 129.9K

$10.51 A$15.13

-31.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.61 Rp 65.0K

$9.65 A$13.89

-62.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.04 Rp 180.7K

$15.22 A$21.91

-34.03%

Apples (1kg)

$5.14 Rp 92.4K

$3.99 A$5.75

28.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$3.02 A$4.34

-63.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 Rp 19.5K

$3.10 A$4.46

-64.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 Rp 26.5K

$4.82 A$6.93

-69.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$3.03 A$4.36

-56.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

$2.44 A$3.52

-27.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 Rp 13.6K

$2.46 A$3.54

-69.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,097

$1.63 A$2.34

-68.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.08 Rp 37.4K

$44.07 A$63.4

-95.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.04 Rp 378.7K

$12.70 A$18.28

65.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 Rp 28.8K

$5.54 A$7.97

-71.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 Rp 45.4K

$5.23 A$7.52

-51.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 Rp 5,403

$3.74 A$5.38

-91.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 Rp 8,935

$4.51 A$6.50

-88.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 Rp 6,183

$1.36 A$1.96

-75.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 Rp 48.0K

$30.45 A$43.81

-91.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$1.47 A$2.12

-44.90%

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

$26.8K Rp 482.4M

$29.0K A$41.7K

-7.59%

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

$31.1K Rp 559.1M

$26.5K A$38.1K

17.34%

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

$67.2 Rp 1.2M

$234 A$336

-71.23%

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

$4.75 Rp 85.5K

$27.93 A$40.19

-82.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.78 Rp 338.0K

$55.7 A$80.2

-66.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.72 Rp 354.9K

$49.40 A$71.1

-60.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.94 Rp 160.9K

$21.48 A$30.91

-58.38%

Cinema Ticket

$2.75 Rp 49.4K

$15.09 A$21.72

-81.78%

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

$89.9 Rp 1.6M

$2,371 A$3,412

-96.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,095 Rp 145.7M

$30.2K A$43.5K

-73.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.77 Rp 859.9K

$80.0 A$115

-40.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.33 Rp 582.0K

$50.7 A$73.0

-36.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.9 Rp 1.4M

$121 A$174

-36.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.1 Rp 1.3M

$130 A$188

-43.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$195 Rp 3.5M

$1,759 A$2,531

-88.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 Rp 2.7M

$1,390 A$2,000

-89.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$491 Rp 8.8M

$3,494 A$5,027

-85.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$338 Rp 6.1M

$2,493 A$3,588

-86.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,107 Rp 19.9M

$6,926 A$9,967

-84.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$730 Rp 13.1M

$6,445 A$9,274

-88.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 Rp 6.0M

$4,383 A$6,307

-92.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

5.9

60.34%

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

Last update for Samarinda: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Samarinda

$213 32.9%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 80.3% $171

Accommodation & Living

Samarinda

$148 22.8%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 841% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Samarinda

$104 16.1%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 65.1% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samarinda

$91 14%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 250% $227

Eating Out

Samarinda

$63 9.7%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 399% $252

Sport & Entertainment

Samarinda

$25 3.9%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 216% $54

Getting Around

Samarinda

$3.4 * 0.5%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 4703% $160

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 $195 in Samarinda and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 1204% 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: $14.00 in Samarinda vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $213 vs $384 per month, with Samarinda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Samarinda

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

11:16 11:16 AM

14:16 2:16 PM

3 h ahead of Samarinda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

726,223

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Samarinda Melbourne 5,030 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Samarinda
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

Samarinda vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Samarinda and Melbourne differ by about 336% in total monthly costs ($647 vs $2,821 including rent). Samarinda is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1204% 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: $195 in Samarinda versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 80% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $647 per month in Samarinda versus $2,821 in Melbourne – a 336% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $647 in Samarinda versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Samarinda but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Samarinda 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, Samarinda 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 Samarinda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 336% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.