Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Melbourne: $2,849 a month against $3,267 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 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
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,267

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,267 in Sydney versus $2,849 in Melbourne.

Sydney $3,267
Melbourne $2,849

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,847 in Sydney versus $4,274 in Melbourne.

Sydney $4,847
Melbourne $4,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,428 in Sydney versus $5,699 in Melbourne.

Sydney $6,428
Melbourne $5,699

Living in Sydney is roughly 15% more expensive than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sydney 140% above, Melbourne 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.88

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.4 A$128

$84.3 A$120

7.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.00

$12.17 A$17.30

-1.73%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.69

$4.07 A$5.79

-1.72%

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

$2.81 A$4.00

$3.18 A$4.52

-11.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 A$3.16

$2.50 A$3.55

-11.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.13 A$11.57

$9.57 A$13.61

-15.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 A$10.24

$8.25 A$11.73

-12.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 A$2.42

$1.50 A$2.14

13.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.18

$2.97 A$4.22

-1.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 A$3.58

$2.68 A$3.82

-6.34%

Eggs

$5.66 A$8.05

$5.45 A$7.76

3.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.22 A$17.37

$10.71 A$15.23

14.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.31 A$13.24

$10.05 A$14.29

-7.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 A$23.99

$15.00 A$21.33

12.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.90 A$5.55

$4.07 A$5.79

-4.18%

Banana (1kg)

$3.22 A$4.58

$3.14 A$4.46

2.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.43 A$4.88

$3.12 A$4.43

9.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 A$6.16

$4.73 A$6.73

-8.46%

Potato (1kg)

$3.35 A$4.76

$2.98 A$4.24

12.42%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.41

$2.49 A$3.55

-3.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.33

$2.48 A$3.53

-5.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 A$1.65

$1.60 A$2.27

-27.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.47 A$64.7

$44.65 A$63.5

1.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.99 A$19.89

$12.68 A$18.03

10.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.11 A$5.84

$5.55 A$7.89

-25.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.18 A$5.94

$5.18 A$7.37

-19.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.12 A$4.44

$3.84 A$5.46

-18.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$152 A$216

$139 A$197

9.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.46 A$4.92

$4.36 A$6.20

-20.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.22

$1.37 A$1.94

13.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.54 A$56.2

$29.72 A$42.26

33.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 A$2.06

$1.49 A$2.11

-2.68%

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

$29.9K A$42.5K

$29.1K A$41.4K

2.79%

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

$27.5K A$39.1K

$25.7K A$36.5K

7.20%

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

$251 A$357

$236 A$335

6.44%

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

$27.76 A$39.47

$28.01 A$39.83

-0.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.0 A$82.5

$57.2 A$81.4

1.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.7 A$100

$48.39 A$68.8

46.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.25 A$33.06

$21.46 A$30.52

8.34%

Cinema Ticket

$17.83 A$25.35

$17.67 A$25.12

0.91%

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

$2,358 A$3,353

$2,461 A$3,499

-4.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.2K A$38.7K

$29.7K A$42.2K

-8.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.5 A$114

$81.2 A$115

-0.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$69.3 A$98.5

$49.28 A$70.1

40.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$157

$120 A$170

-7.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 A$181

$131 A$186

-2.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,566 A$3,648

$1,703 A$2,421

50.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,792 A$2,549

$1,409 A$2,003

27.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,202 A$7,396

$3,496 A$4,971

48.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,156 A$4,488

$2,527 A$3,593

24.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K A$19.0K

$7,978 A$11.3K

67.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,727 A$12.4K

$6,900 A$9,812

26.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,118 A$5,856

$4,257 A$6,053

-3.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

5.9

0.34%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 24, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.8K 54.9%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4% 21.4% $384

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$382 11.7%

Melbourne

$386 13.6% 1.1% $4.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$337 10.3%

Melbourne

$321 11.3% 4.7% $16

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.2%

Melbourne

$312 11% 4.5% $13

Getting Around

Sydney

$176 5.4%

Melbourne

$165 5.8% 5.9% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$175 5.3%

Melbourne

$171 6% 1.8% $3.1

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$106 3.3%

Melbourne

$84 2.9% 21.3% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,566 in Sydney and $1,703 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $90 in Sydney vs $84 in Melbourne. Groceries flip the comparison at $382 vs $386, with Sydney cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

14:56 2:56 PM

Same time as Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.631 EUR

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.631 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Melbourne 710 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
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

Sydney vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Melbourne differ by about 15% in total monthly costs ($3,267 vs $2,849 including rent). Melbourne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 3% 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: $2,566 in Sydney versus $1,703 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Melbourne runs roughly 9% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $3,267 per month in Sydney versus $2,849 in Melbourne – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Safety-wise, Sydney 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.