Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Busselton

For one person, living is cheaper in Busselton: $2,622 a month against $3,267 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

157

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Busselton
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Busselton Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,267

/mo nomad

Busselton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,622

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Busselton

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sydney and in Busselton actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,267 in Sydney versus $2,622 in Busselton.

Sydney $3,267
Busselton $2,622

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,847 in Sydney versus $3,738 in Busselton.

Sydney $4,847
Busselton $3,738

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,428 in Sydney versus $4,853 in Busselton.

Sydney $6,428
Busselton $4,853

Living in Sydney is roughly 25% more expensive than in Busselton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sydney 140% above, Busselton 93% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.87

$17.71 A$25.17

-1.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.4 A$128

$85.7 A$122

5.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$16.99

$10.46 A$14.86

14.34%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.68

$4.61 A$6.55

-13.23%

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

$2.81 A$4.00

$2.06 A$2.92

36.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 A$3.16

$2.15 A$3.06

3.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.13 A$11.56

$8.16 A$11.59

-0.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 A$10.23

$8.65 A$12.29

-16.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 A$2.42

$1.69 A$2.40

0.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.17

$3.24 A$4.60

-9.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 A$3.57

$2.03 A$2.89

23.65%

Eggs

$5.66 A$8.04

$5.29 A$7.51

6.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.22 A$17.36

$9.02 A$12.82

35.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.31 A$13.24

$9.45 A$13.43

-1.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 A$23.97

$13.73 A$19.51

22.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.90 A$5.54

$4.59 A$6.53

-15.03%

Banana (1kg)

$3.22 A$4.58

$3.23 A$4.59

-0.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.43 A$4.88

$3.55 A$5.05

-3.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 A$6.16

$4.99 A$7.09

-13.23%

Potato (1kg)

$3.35 A$4.75

$2.91 A$4.13

15.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.41

$1.97 A$2.80

21.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.32

$2.22 A$3.16

5.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 A$1.65

$1.35 A$1.91

-14.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.47 A$64.6

$41.77 A$59.4

8.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.99 A$19.88

$12.58 A$17.88

11.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.11 A$5.84

$4.34 A$6.16

-5.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.18 A$5.94

$3.42 A$4.87

22.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.12 A$4.44

$2.83 A$4.02

10.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$152 A$216

$75.3 A$107

101.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.46 A$4.92

$3.72 A$5.28

-6.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.22

$1.46 A$2.08

6.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.54 A$56.2

$40.47 A$57.5

-2.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 A$2.05

$1.36 A$1.94

6.62%

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

$29.9K A$42.5K

$29.6K A$42.1K

0.92%

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

$27.5K A$39.1K

$27.3K A$38.7K

0.93%

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

$251 A$356

$205 A$291

22.36%

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

$27.76 A$39.44

$33.45 A$47.53

-17.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.0 A$82.4

$64.7 A$92.0

-10.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.7 A$100

$54.5 A$77.5

29.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.25 A$33.04

$19.77 A$28.10

17.60%

Cinema Ticket

$17.83 A$25.33

$17.48 A$24.84

2.00%

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

$2,358 A$3,351

$2,269 A$3,224

3.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.2K A$38.6K

$23.0K A$32.7K

17.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.5 A$114

$78.1 A$111

3.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$69.3 A$98.5

$63.0 A$89.6

9.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$157

$123 A$175

-10.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 A$181

$161 A$228

-20.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,566 A$3,646

$1,288 A$1,830

99.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,792 A$2,547

$1,270 A$1,805

41.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,202 A$7,391

$2,366 A$3,362

119.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,156 A$4,485

$1,815 A$2,580

73.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K A$19.0K

$5,978 A$8,494

123.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,727 A$12.4K

$4,879 A$6,932

78.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,118 A$5,851

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

5.96

-0.67%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 24, 2026

Last update for Busselton: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.8K 54.9%

Busselton

$1.3K 48.5% 29.1% $522

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$382 11.7%

Busselton

$367 14% 4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$337 10.3%

Busselton

$303 11.6% 9.9% $33

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.2%

Busselton

$303 11.6% 1.4% $4.2

Getting Around

Sydney

$176 5.4%

Busselton

$98 3.7% 44.4% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$175 5.3%

Busselton

$191 7.3% 9.6% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$106 3.3%

Busselton

$89 3.4% 15.8% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,566 in Sydney and $1,288 in Busselton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $90 in Sydney vs $86 in Busselton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $382 vs $367 per month, with Busselton cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇦🇺 Busselton

🕒 Local time

05:41 5:41 AM

02:41 2:41 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

27,233

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sydney Busselton 3,300 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Busselton

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

Sydney vs Busselton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Busselton differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($3,267 vs $2,622 including rent). Busselton is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $4,900 in Sydney and $3,933 in Busselton to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,566 in Sydney versus $1,288 in Busselton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,358 in Sydney versus $2,269 in Busselton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,622 in Busselton versus $3,267 in Sydney, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Busselton but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Busselton 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, Sydney and Busselton 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 Busselton gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.