Auckland vs Melbourne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Auckland	Melbourne
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1961	$2308
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4489	$5590
🏠 One person rent	$1107	$1286
🏘️ Family rent	$1860	$2187
🍽️ Food expenses	$509	$561
🚐 Transport expenses	$221	$315
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3143	$4060
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	12 km
🎓 Higher education	32	100
😀 Quality of life	91	100
🏙️ Population	1.47M	5.35M

The cost of living in Auckland is 15% less expensive than in Melbourne. Cities ranked 2124th and 1249th ($1961 vs $2308) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 4th in New Zealand and Australia, respectively. Check New Zealand vs Australia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Auckland compared to 1.8 months in Melbourne. Auckland ranked 1st best city to live in New Zealand vs Melbourne ranked 1st in Australia, while ranked 170th and 1st among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Auckland vs Melbourne infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/auckland/melbourne.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Auckland vs Melbourne infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/auckland/melbourne" target="_blank">Auckland vs Melbourne - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Auckland vs Melbourne

Prices for goods and services in Auckland and Melbourne are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Auckland	Melbourne
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$12.6	$14.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$67.5	$69.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.08	$10.2
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.89	$8.26
☕ Cappuccino	$3.4	$3.74
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.21	$2.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1141	$1462
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$931	$1055
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2059	$2675
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1583	$1808
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$87	$101
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$135	$157
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$47.4	$48.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.26%	6.03%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7253	$7072
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5974	$5978
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.77	$3.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$122	$115
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.9	$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.55	$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.64	$1.54
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.8	$2.38
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$2.04
🥚 Eggs, x12	$6.56	$5.43
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.74	$11.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.86	$9.58
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.5	$13.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.68	$3.28
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.04	$2.97
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.02	$3.14
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.48	$4.15
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.71	$2.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.42	$2.43
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.78	$1.06
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.56	$2.63
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$11.3	$13.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.79	$4.88
🚬 Cigarette pack	$24.2	$27.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.6	$6.99
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.93	$6.03
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.47	$3.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.32	$2.65
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.3	$48.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.2	$15.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$39.3	$52.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$18.5	$24.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$72.4	$72
👟 Brand Sneakers	$101	$110
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$864	$1948
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13612	$22799

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Auckland

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.4 mi	Waitakere	$1716
17 km or 11 mi	Manukau	$1678
28 km or 18 mi	Hibiscus Coast	$1675
40 km or 25 mi	Pukekohe	$1499
113 km or 70 mi	Hamilton	$1383
132 km or 82 mi	Whangarei	$1250
154 km or 96 mi	Tauranga	$1678
193 km or 120 mi	Rotorua	$1312
234 km or 146 mi	Taupo	$1423
253 km or 157 mi	New Plymouth	$1237
344 km or 214 mi	Whanganui	$1425
347 km or 216 mi	Napier	$1493
348 km or 217 mi	Gisborne	$1612
359 km or 223 mi	Hastings	$1480
396 km or 246 mi	Palmerston North	$1379
453 km or 281 mi	Paraparaumu	$1612
464 km or 288 mi	Masterton	$1252
476 km or 296 mi	Porirua	$1743
477 km or 296 mi	Upper Hutt	$1709
486 km or 302 mi	Lower Hutt	$1838
494 km or 307 mi	Wellington	$1869
512 km or 318 mi	Nelson	$1396
524 km or 326 mi	Blenheim	$1254
765 km or 475 mi	Christchurch	$1638
891 km or 553 mi	Timaru	$1847
995 km or 618 mi	Wanaka	$1536
1044 km or 649 mi	Queenstown	$2086
1064 km or 661 mi	Dunedin	$1461
1190 km or 740 mi	Invercargill	$1238
1809 km or 1124 mi	Noumea	$1878
1821 km or 1131 mi	Dumbea	$1811
1826 km or 1135 mi	Paita	$1807
1997 km or 1241 mi	Mua	$1022
1997 km or 1241 mi	Nukualofa	$1024
2097 km or 1303 mi	Port Macquarie	$1633
2112 km or 1312 mi	Suva	$836
2120 km or 1317 mi	Nasinu	$818
2129 km or 1323 mi	Coffs Harbour	$1988
2134 km or 1326 mi	Nadi	$997
2140 km or 1330 mi	Newcastle	$1839

Cities near Melbourne

Distance	City	Cost of living
3.2 km or 2 mi	South Yarra	$1681
24 km or 15 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1697
25 km or 16 mi	Tarneit	$1673
29 km or 18 mi	Dandenong	$1736
34 km or 21 mi	Sunbury	$1768
37 km or 23 mi	Melton	$1738
40 km or 25 mi	Frankston	$1728
41 km or 25 mi	Berwick	$1706
42 km or 26 mi	Cranbourne	$1674
54 km or 34 mi	Pakenham	$1725
65 km or 40 mi	Geelong	$2058
102 km or 64 mi	Ballarat	$1464
134 km or 83 mi	Bendigo	$1362
144 km or 90 mi	Traralgon	$1813
164 km or 102 mi	Shepparton	$1662
226 km or 140 mi	Warrnambool	$1718
367 km or 228 mi	Mount Gambier	$1753
369 km or 230 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1458
392 km or 244 mi	Devonport	$1786
404 km or 251 mi	Griffith	$1667
444 km or 276 mi	Launceston	$1660
466 km or 290 mi	Canberra	$2019
477 km or 296 mi	Mildura	$1771
546 km or 339 mi	Goulburn	$1678
597 km or 371 mi	Hobart	$2127
628 km or 390 mi	Orange	$1364
643 km or 399 mi	Bathurst	$1568
651 km or 405 mi	Wollongong	$1580
655 km or 407 mi	Adelaide	$2117
700 km or 435 mi	Blacktown	$1599
702 km or 436 mi	Dubbo	$1747
703 km or 437 mi	Parramatta	$2292
707 km or 440 mi	Kellyville	$1888
713 km or 443 mi	Sydney	$2640
728 km or 452 mi	Dee Why	$2181
822 km or 511 mi	Newcastle	$1839
891 km or 554 mi	Whyalla	$1911
1015 km or 631 mi	Port Macquarie	$1633
1021 km or 634 mi	Armidale	$1184
1123 km or 698 mi	Coffs Harbour	$1988