Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sibu and Sydney

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibu: $866 a month against $3,245 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Sibu
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Sibu Living Index
156

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index

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Sibu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$866

/mo nomad

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,245

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sibu and in Sydney

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 Sydney actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $866 in Sibu versus $3,245 in Sydney.

Sibu $866
Sydney $3,245

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,293 in Sibu versus $4,803 in Sydney.

Sibu $1,293
Sydney $4,803

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,720 in Sibu versus $6,362 in Sydney.

Sibu $1,720
Sydney $6,362

Living in Sibu costs roughly 73% less than in Sydney, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sibu is 36% below, Sydney is 139% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.16 MYR 8.82

$17.41 A$25.05

-87.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.47 MYR 79.4

$90.3 A$130

-78.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.21 MYR 17.18

$11.92 A$17.15

-64.68%

Cappuccino

$2.38 MYR 9.70

$4.03 A$5.80

-40.94%

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

$0.67 MYR 2.74

$2.88 A$4.15

-76.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 MYR 0.93

$2.23 A$3.20

-89.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.92 MYR 11.92

$7.89 A$11.36

-62.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 MYR 17.96

$6.78 A$9.76

-35.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MYR 7.33

$1.71 A$2.45

5.26%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 MYR 3.65

$2.94 A$4.23

-69.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.80

$2.51 A$3.61

-33.47%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.16

$5.55 A$7.99

-59.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.65 MYR 47.53

$11.77 A$16.94

-1.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.84 MYR 15.66

$9.28 A$13.35

-58.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 MYR 39.55

$16.70 A$24.03

-41.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 MYR 15.16

$3.92 A$5.64

-5.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 MYR 6.26

$3.16 A$4.55

-51.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 MYR 9.55

$3.48 A$5.00

-32.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.62

$4.38 A$6.31

-68.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 MYR 4.58

$3.33 A$4.79

-66.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 MYR 5.29

$2.40 A$3.46

-45.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 MYR 4.76

$2.31 A$3.32

-49.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MYR 2.22

$1.15 A$1.65

-53.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.53 MYR 18.48

$44.34 A$63.8

-89.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.28 MYR 74.6

$13.71 A$19.72

33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 MYR 11.64

$4.00 A$5.75

-28.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 MYR 18.38

$4.03 A$5.80

11.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$3.22 A$4.63

-74.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.85 MYR 56.5

$154 A$222

-91.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.40 MYR 5.70

$3.57 A$5.14

-60.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.54 MYR 2.18

$1.58 A$2.27

-65.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.01 MYR 32.68

$39.44 A$56.8

-79.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 MYR 3.28

$1.48 A$2.13

-45.95%

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

$49.1K MYR 200.3K

$29.6K A$42.5K

66.17%

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

$35.6K MYR 145.4K

$27.7K A$39.8K

28.87%

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

$49.59 MYR 202

$241 A$347

-79.46%

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

$7.14 MYR 29.14

$27.57 A$39.67

-74.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.47 MYR 108

$56.3 A$81.0

-52.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.94 MYR 110

$78.1 A$112

-65.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.44 MYR 26.26

$23.26 A$33.47

-72.31%

Cinema Ticket

$3.74 MYR 15.24

$17.55 A$25.26

-78.69%

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

$181 MYR 739

$2,185 A$3,144

-91.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,906 MYR 28.2K

$27.8K A$40.0K

-75.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 MYR 226

$80.0 A$115

-30.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.48 MYR 124

$70.7 A$102

-56.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.2 MYR 364

$111 A$159

-19.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.2 MYR 307

$129 A$186

-41.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$340 MYR 1,386

$2,477 A$3,564

-86.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$282 MYR 1,150

$1,777 A$2,557

-84.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$597 MYR 2,437

$4,885 A$7,030

-87.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$451 MYR 1,841

$3,093 A$4,451

-85.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,782 MYR 7,272

$13.4K A$19.3K

-86.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$966 MYR 3,941

$8,375 A$12.1K

-88.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$496 MYR 2,021

$4,074 A$5,862

-87.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

5.92

-31.42%

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

Last update for Sibu: October 18, 2026

Last update for Sydney: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sibu

$282 32.6%

Sydney

$1.8K 54.8% 530% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sibu

$247 28.5%

Sydney

$378 11.7% 53.2% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Sibu

$113 13%

Sydney

$176 5.4% 56.1% $63

Eating Out

Sibu

$85 9.9%

Sydney

$297 9.2% 247% $211

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sibu

$83 9.6%

Sydney

$325 10% 291% $242

Sport & Entertainment

Sibu

$34 4%

Sydney

$113 3.5% 229% $79

Getting Around

Sibu

$21 2.5%

Sydney

$178 5.5% 739% $157

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $340 in Sibu and $2,477 in Sydney. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 722% 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 $90.0 in Sydney for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $247 vs $378 per month, with Sibu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sibu

🇦🇺 Sydney

🕒 Local time

05:20 5:20 AM

08:20 8:20 AM

3 h ahead of Sibu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,239

4,840,600

💱 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

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Between locations

Sibu Sydney 5,750 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sibu
Sydney

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 Sydney: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sibu wins on cost – living expenses run 275% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sibu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 722% lower in Sydney. 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 $2,477 in Sydney. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $866 per month in Sibu versus $3,245 in Sydney – a 275% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sibu runs roughly 1013% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $866 in Sibu versus $3,245 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sibu but tight or insufficient in Sydney. 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 Sydney 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 275% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.