Brisbane vs Melbourne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Brisbane Melbourne
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2016
$2194
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4617
$5150
🏠 One person rent
$1227
$1216
🏘️ Family rent
$2041
$1971
🍽️ Food expenses
$503
$541
🚐 Transport expenses
$149
$296
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3747
$3902
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
12 km
🎓 Higher education
66
100
😀 Quality of life
97
100
🏙️ Population
2.71M
5.03M

The cost of living in Brisbane is 8% less expensive than in Melbourne. Cities ranked 1792nd and 1365th ($2016 vs $2194) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 10th and 4th in Australia.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Brisbane compared to 1.8 months in Melbourne. Ranked 4th vs 1st best cities to live in Australia, and 7th vs 1st among the best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Brisbane vs Melbourne infographic

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Prices in Brisbane vs Melbourne

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

Brisbane Melbourne
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$13.3
$14.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$64.1
$67.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.64
$9.78
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.35
$8.09
 Cappuccino
$3.51
$3.38
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.72
$2.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1443
$1287
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1015
$1014
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2386
$2611
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1744
$1561
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$77.6
$98.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$119
$150
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$48.7
$49.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.36%
6.24%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7172
$6900
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4905
$5335
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.32
$3.51
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$40.1
$117
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$16.3
$15.7
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.24
$1.2
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.45
$1.39
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.98
$2.28
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.6
$2.2
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.09
$4.68
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.49
$9.78
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.55
$9.79
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.6
$14.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.99
$3.2
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.68
$2.8
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.75
$2.91
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.56
$3.93
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.36
$2.47
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$2.23
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.84
$0.93
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.36
$2.59
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.2
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.37
$4.57
🚬 Cigarette pack
$23.5
$29
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$7.01
$5.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.9
$7
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.09
$3.2
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.9
$3.67
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$45
$47.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$12.9
$15.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$57.5
$52.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$19.2
$22.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$76
$70.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$102
$107
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1504
$1683
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$7949
$19705

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Brisbane

Distance City Cost of living
31 km or 19 mi Ipswich
$1677
45 km or 28 mi Caboolture
$1748
66 km or 41 mi Southport
$2067
71 km or 44 mi Gold Coast
$2239
75 km or 47 mi Caloundra
$1683
91 km or 57 mi Sunshine Coast
$1709
107 km or 66 mi Toowoomba
$1504
143 km or 89 mi Byron Bay
$1781
243 km or 151 mi Hervey Bay
$1638
299 km or 186 mi Bundaberg
$1557
315 km or 196 mi Coffs Harbour
$1963
362 km or 225 mi Armidale
$1185
441 km or 274 mi Gladstone
$1478
441 km or 274 mi Port Macquarie
$1681
520 km or 323 mi Rockhampton
$1411
618 km or 384 mi Newcastle
$1448
682 km or 424 mi Dubbo
$1702
719 km or 447 mi Dee Why
$2099
722 km or 449 mi Kellyville
$1824
730 km or 453 mi Blacktown
$1584
732 km or 455 mi Parramatta
$2252
733 km or 455 mi Sydney
$2539
740 km or 460 mi Bathurst
$1538
748 km or 465 mi Orange
$1511
801 km or 498 mi Wollongong
$1416
869 km or 540 mi Goulburn
$1616
945 km or 587 mi Canberra
$2023
1006 km or 625 mi Wagga Wagga
$1457
1009 km or 627 mi Griffith
$1619
1111 km or 690 mi Townsville
$1667
1224 km or 761 mi Shepparton
$1601
1278 km or 794 mi Mildura
$1691
1320 km or 820 mi Bendigo
$1291
1337 km or 831 mi Traralgon
$1727
1367 km or 849 mi Sunbury
$1691
1372 km or 853 mi Pakenham
$1654
1375 km or 855 mi Melbourne
$2194
1376 km or 855 mi Berwick
$1643
1376 km or 855 mi South Yarra
$1620
1377 km or 856 mi Dandenong
$1645

Cities near Melbourne

Distance City Cost of living
3.2 km or 2 mi South Yarra
$1620
24 km or 15 mi Hoppers Crossing
$1635
25 km or 16 mi Tarneit
$1625
29 km or 18 mi Dandenong
$1645
34 km or 21 mi Sunbury
$1691
37 km or 23 mi Melton
$1668
40 km or 25 mi Frankston
$1671
41 km or 25 mi Berwick
$1643
42 km or 26 mi Cranbourne
$1600
54 km or 34 mi Pakenham
$1654
65 km or 40 mi Geelong
$1981
102 km or 64 mi Ballarat
$1390
134 km or 83 mi Bendigo
$1291
144 km or 90 mi Traralgon
$1727
164 km or 102 mi Shepparton
$1601
226 km or 140 mi Warrnambool
$1631
367 km or 228 mi Mount Gambier
$1701
369 km or 230 mi Wagga Wagga
$1457
392 km or 244 mi Devonport
$1768
404 km or 251 mi Griffith
$1619
444 km or 276 mi Launceston
$1651
466 km or 290 mi Canberra
$2023
477 km or 296 mi Mildura
$1691
546 km or 339 mi Goulburn
$1616
597 km or 371 mi Hobart
$2106
628 km or 390 mi Orange
$1511
643 km or 399 mi Bathurst
$1538
651 km or 405 mi Wollongong
$1416
655 km or 407 mi Adelaide
$1978
700 km or 435 mi Blacktown
$1584
702 km or 436 mi Dubbo
$1702
703 km or 437 mi Parramatta
$2252
707 km or 440 mi Kellyville
$1824
713 km or 443 mi Sydney
$2539
728 km or 452 mi Dee Why
$2099
822 km or 511 mi Newcastle
$1448
891 km or 554 mi Whyalla
$1795
1015 km or 631 mi Port Macquarie
$1681
1021 km or 634 mi Armidale
$1185
1123 km or 698 mi Coffs Harbour
$1963