Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Solingen and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Solingen: $2,001 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

98

Cost of Living Index in Solingen
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Solingen Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Solingen

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,001

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,001 in Solingen versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Solingen $2,001
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,003 in Solingen versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Solingen $3,003
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,006 in Solingen versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Solingen $4,006
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Solingen costs roughly 29% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Solingen 48% above, Melbourne 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.24 €17.11

$17.43 A$25.08

10.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.5 €65.4

$84.6 A$122

-13.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.48 €11.99

$12.46 A$17.92

8.19%

Cappuccino

$3.88 €3.45

$4.11 A$5.91

-5.60%

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

$3.13 €2.78

$3.06 A$4.40

2.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 €2.59

$2.52 A$3.62

15.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.11 €4.55

$9.80 A$14.10

-47.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.50 €4.00

$8.57 A$12.33

-47.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.48 A$2.14

-14.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.94 A$4.23

-29.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.96 €2.63

$2.66 A$3.82

11.28%

Eggs

$3.91 €3.48

$5.54 A$7.97

-29.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.36 €14.55

$10.51 A$15.13

55.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.79 €11.38

$9.65 A$13.89

32.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.56 €20.06

$15.22 A$21.91

48.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 €2.77

$3.99 A$5.75

-21.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.12 €1.88

$3.02 A$4.34

-29.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.13 €1.89

$3.10 A$4.46

-31.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.89 €3.46

$4.82 A$6.93

-19.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 €1.06

$3.03 A$4.36

-60.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 €1.16

$2.44 A$3.52

-46.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 €1.41

$2.46 A$3.54

-35.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.63 A$2.34

-28.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.94 €8.84

$44.07 A$63.4

-77.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.01

$12.70 A$18.28

-55.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$5.54 A$7.97

-81.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 €1.30

$5.23 A$7.52

-72.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.43 €3.05

$3.74 A$5.38

-8.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.1 €57.9

$138 A$198

-52.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 €4.46

$4.51 A$6.50

11.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.04 €2.71

$1.36 A$1.96

123.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.45 €34.20

$30.45 A$43.81

26.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.47 A$2.12

49.66%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$29.0K A$41.7K

15.22%

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

$37.6K €33.5K

$26.5K A$38.1K

42.13%

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

$330 €294

$234 A$336

41.28%

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

$19.79 €17.61

$27.93 A$40.19

-29.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.22 €36.66

$55.7 A$80.2

-26.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.77 €35.37

$49.40 A$71.1

-19.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.78 €21.15

$21.48 A$30.91

10.71%

Cinema Ticket

$15.29 €13.60

$15.09 A$21.72

1.33%

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

$470 €418

$2,371 A$3,412

-80.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,286 €8,260

$30.2K A$43.5K

-69.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.6 €84.2

$80.0 A$115

18.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.74 €37.13

$50.7 A$73.0

-17.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 €99.2

$121 A$174

-7.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$166 €148

$130 A$188

27.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$842 €749

$1,759 A$2,531

-52.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$611 €543

$1,390 A$2,000

-56.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,372 €1,220

$3,494 A$5,027

-60.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 €910

$2,493 A$3,588

-58.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,992 €4,441

$6,926 A$9,967

-27.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,334 €2,966

$6,445 A$9,274

-48.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,206 €4,631

$4,383 A$6,307

18.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

5.9

-33.05%

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

Last update for Solingen: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Solingen

$611 30.5%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 128% $779

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Solingen

$391 19.6%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 18.9% $74

Groceries & Markets

Solingen

$344 17.2%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 11.7% $40

Eating Out

Solingen

$300 15%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 5% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Solingen

$186 9.3%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 7.8% $15

Getting Around

Solingen

$99 5%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 65.4% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Solingen

$70 3.5%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 13.1% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $842 in Solingen and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Solingen pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $73.0 in Solingen vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $344 vs $384 per month, with Solingen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Solingen

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

18:44 6:44 PM

03:44 3:44 AM

9 h ahead of Solingen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

164,205

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Solingen Melbourne 16,420 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Solingen
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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

Solingen vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Solingen and Melbourne differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($2,001 vs $2,821 including rent). Solingen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 19% higher in Solingen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $842 in Solingen versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $470 in Solingen 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 12% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,001 in Solingen versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Solingen but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Solingen 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, Solingen 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 Solingen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.