Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sibu and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibu: $866 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $23,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Sibu
Learn more

Sibu Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Sibu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$866

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $866 in Sibu versus $2,853 in Melbourne.

Sibu $866
Melbourne $2,853

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,293 in Sibu versus $4,275 in Melbourne.

Sibu $1,293
Melbourne $4,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,720 in Sibu versus $5,697 in Melbourne.

Sibu $1,720
Melbourne $5,697

Living in Sibu costs roughly 70% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sibu is 36% below, Melbourne is 111% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.16 MYR 8.82

$17.20 A$24.75

-87.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.47 MYR 79.4

$83.1 A$120

-76.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.21 MYR 17.18

$12.43 A$17.88

-66.13%

Cappuccino

$2.38 MYR 9.70

$4.05 A$5.82

-41.23%

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

$0.67 MYR 2.74

$3.12 A$4.50

-78.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 MYR 0.93

$2.46 A$3.54

-90.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.92 MYR 11.92

$9.52 A$13.71

-69.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 MYR 17.96

$8.16 A$11.74

-46.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MYR 7.33

$1.56 A$2.25

15.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 MYR 3.65

$2.90 A$4.18

-69.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.80

$2.66 A$3.82

-37.22%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.16

$5.37 A$7.72

-58.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.65 MYR 47.53

$10.67 A$15.36

9.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.84 MYR 15.66

$9.85 A$14.17

-61.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 MYR 39.55

$15.36 A$22.11

-36.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 MYR 15.16

$4.17 A$6.00

-10.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 MYR 6.26

$3.15 A$4.53

-51.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 MYR 9.55

$3.26 A$4.69

-28.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.62

$4.76 A$6.85

-71.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 MYR 4.58

$3.06 A$4.41

-63.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 MYR 5.29

$2.47 A$3.55

-47.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 MYR 4.76

$2.45 A$3.52

-52.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MYR 2.22

$1.63 A$2.34

-66.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.53 MYR 18.48

$45.17 A$65.0

-89.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.28 MYR 74.6

$12.68 A$18.25

44.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 MYR 11.64

$5.69 A$8.18

-49.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 MYR 18.38

$5.23 A$7.53

-13.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$3.87 A$5.57

-78.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.85 MYR 56.5

$142 A$204

-90.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.40 MYR 5.70

$4.54 A$6.53

-69.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.54 MYR 2.18

$1.42 A$2.04

-61.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.01 MYR 32.68

$30.59 A$44.01

-73.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 MYR 3.28

$1.47 A$2.11

-45.58%

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

$49.1K MYR 200.3K

$28.9K A$41.5K

70.14%

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

$35.6K MYR 145.4K

$25.9K A$37.3K

37.54%

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

$49.59 MYR 202

$235 A$338

-78.91%

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

$7.14 MYR 29.14

$27.45 A$39.51

-73.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.47 MYR 108

$56.1 A$80.8

-52.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.94 MYR 110

$50.1 A$72.1

-46.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.44 MYR 26.26

$21.49 A$30.93

-70.03%

Cinema Ticket

$3.74 MYR 15.24

$17.76 A$25.56

-78.94%

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

$181 MYR 739

$2,385 A$3,432

-92.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,906 MYR 28.2K

$29.7K A$42.7K

-76.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 MYR 226

$79.2 A$114

-29.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.48 MYR 124

$49.49 A$71.2

-38.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.2 MYR 364

$118 A$170

-24.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.2 MYR 307

$132 A$190

-43.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$340 MYR 1,386

$1,763 A$2,537

-80.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$282 MYR 1,150

$1,411 A$2,031

-80.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$597 MYR 2,437

$3,522 A$5,069

-83.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 MYR 1,841

$2,525 A$3,634

-82.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,782 MYR 7,272

$7,136 A$10.3K

-75.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$966 MYR 3,941

$6,355 A$9,144

-84.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$496 MYR 2,021

$4,258 A$6,128

-88.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

5.9

-31.19%

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

Last update for Sibu: October 18, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sibu

$282 32.6%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5% 401% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Sibu

$247 28.5%

Melbourne

$388 13.6% 57.4% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Sibu

$113 13%

Melbourne

$171 6% 51.5% $58

Eating Out

Sibu

$85 9.9%

Melbourne

$310 10.9% 262% $224

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sibu

$83 9.6%

Melbourne

$319 11.2% 283% $236

Sport & Entertainment

Sibu

$34 4%

Melbourne

$86 3% 149% $51

Getting Around

Sibu

$21 2.5%

Melbourne

$169 5.9% 695% $148

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $340 in Sibu and $1,763 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 759% 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: $19.00 in Sibu vs $83.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $247 vs $388 per month, with Sibu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sibu

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

23:11 11:11 PM

02:11 2:11 AM

3 h ahead of Sibu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,239

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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sibu Melbourne 5,610 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sibu
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

Sibu vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sibu and Melbourne differ by about 230% in total monthly costs ($866 vs $2,853 including rent). Sibu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 759% 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: $340 in Sibu versus $1,763 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $181 in Sibu versus $2,385 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $866 in Sibu versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sibu but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Sibu 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, Sibu 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 Sibu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 230% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.