Canberra vs Melbourne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Canberra	Melbourne
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2223	$2496
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4990	$6197
🏠 One person rent	$1398	$1388
🏘️ Family rent	$2158	$2468
🍽️ Food expenses	$563	$606
🚐 Transport expenses	$119	$346
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4087	$4328
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	6 km	12 km
🎓 Higher education	30	100
😀 Quality of life	85	100
🏙️ Population	381K	5.35M

The cost of living in Canberra is 11% less expensive than in Melbourne. Cities ranked 1443rd and 893rd ($2223 vs $2496) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 12th and 4th in Australia.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Canberra compared to 1.7 months in Melbourne. Ranked 13th vs 1st best cities to live in Australia, and 479th vs 1st among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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

Prices in Canberra vs Melbourne

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

	Canberra	Melbourne
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$15.5	$15.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$69.1	$71.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.5	$11.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$7.54	$9.06
☕ Cappuccino	$3.66	$4.04
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.98	$2.97
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1538	$1549
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1150	$1138
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2721	$2861
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1726	$2079
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$119	$115
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$182	$180
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$50.8	$52.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.89%	5.61%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8609	$7481
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5425	$6465
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.53	$3.9
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$88.3	$132
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$16.6	$19.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.33	$1.33
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.4	$1.73
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.62	$2.72
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.99	$2.25
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.14	$5.92
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.7	$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.61	$9.85
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.4	$15.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.69	$3.7
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.44	$3.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.47	$3.42
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.44	$4.78
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.62	$3.06
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.66	$2.73
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.89	$1.17
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.28	$2.74
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.4	$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.86	$5.42
🚬 Cigarette pack	$26.9	$25.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.98	$8.05
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.81	$6.9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.5	$3.3
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.08	$2.88
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$57.5	$48.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.3	$15.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$52.8	$53.7
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.2	$26.2
👖 Brand Jeans	$79.1	$80
👟 Brand Sneakers	$112	$127
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$2023	$2232
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15408	$26129

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Canberra

Distance	City	Cost of living
81 km or 50 mi	Goulburn	$1821
161 km or 100 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1583
187 km or 116 mi	Wollongong	$1695
212 km or 132 mi	Bathurst	$1699
223 km or 139 mi	Orange	$1477
235 km or 146 mi	Blacktown	$1710
238 km or 148 mi	Parramatta	$2482
243 km or 151 mi	Kellyville	$2050
247 km or 154 mi	Sydney	$2844
261 km or 162 mi	Dee Why	$2379
303 km or 188 mi	Griffith	$1824
341 km or 212 mi	Dubbo	$1867
357 km or 222 mi	Shepparton	$1815
358 km or 222 mi	Newcastle	$1997
397 km or 246 mi	Traralgon	$1979
448 km or 278 mi	Pakenham	$1896
454 km or 282 mi	Berwick	$1860
459 km or 285 mi	Dandenong	$1894
464 km or 288 mi	Cranbourne	$1798
466 km or 289 mi	South Yarra	$1829
466 km or 290 mi	Bendigo	$1487
466 km or 290 mi	Melbourne	$2496
470 km or 292 mi	Sunbury	$1928
477 km or 297 mi	Frankston	$1889
485 km or 302 mi	Melton	$1906
488 km or 303 mi	Tarneit	$1822
489 km or 304 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1854
531 km or 330 mi	Geelong	$2217
535 km or 332 mi	Ballarat	$1604
554 km or 344 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
583 km or 362 mi	Armidale	$1288
649 km or 403 mi	Mildura	$1904
669 km or 415 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172
684 km or 425 mi	Warrnambool	$1870
698 km or 434 mi	Devonport	$1898
706 km or 438 mi	Launceston	$1753
796 km or 495 mi	Mount Gambier	$1901
852 km or 529 mi	Byron Bay	$2703
858 km or 533 mi	Hobart	$2308
902 km or 560 mi	Toowoomba	$1766

Cities near Melbourne

Distance	City	Cost of living
3.2 km or 2 mi	South Yarra	$1829
24 km or 15 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1854
25 km or 16 mi	Tarneit	$1822
29 km or 18 mi	Dandenong	$1894
34 km or 21 mi	Sunbury	$1928
37 km or 23 mi	Melton	$1906
40 km or 25 mi	Frankston	$1889
41 km or 25 mi	Berwick	$1860
42 km or 26 mi	Cranbourne	$1798
54 km or 34 mi	Pakenham	$1896
65 km or 40 mi	Geelong	$2217
102 km or 64 mi	Ballarat	$1604
134 km or 83 mi	Bendigo	$1487
144 km or 90 mi	Traralgon	$1979
164 km or 102 mi	Shepparton	$1815
226 km or 140 mi	Warrnambool	$1870
367 km or 228 mi	Mount Gambier	$1901
369 km or 230 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1583
392 km or 244 mi	Devonport	$1898
404 km or 251 mi	Griffith	$1824
444 km or 276 mi	Launceston	$1753
466 km or 290 mi	Canberra	$2223
477 km or 296 mi	Mildura	$1904
546 km or 339 mi	Goulburn	$1821
597 km or 371 mi	Hobart	$2308
628 km or 390 mi	Orange	$1477
643 km or 399 mi	Bathurst	$1699
651 km or 405 mi	Wollongong	$1695
655 km or 407 mi	Adelaide	$2338
700 km or 435 mi	Blacktown	$1710
702 km or 436 mi	Dubbo	$1867
703 km or 437 mi	Parramatta	$2482
707 km or 440 mi	Kellyville	$2050
713 km or 443 mi	Sydney	$2844
728 km or 452 mi	Dee Why	$2379
822 km or 511 mi	Newcastle	$1997
891 km or 554 mi	Whyalla	$2128
1015 km or 631 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
1021 km or 634 mi	Armidale	$1288
1123 km or 698 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172