Canberra vs Sydney - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Canberra	Sydney
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2258	$2844
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5105	$6812
🏠 One person rent	$1409	$1756
🏘️ Family rent	$2111	$3107
🍽️ Food expenses	$584	$592
🚐 Transport expenses	$117	$335
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4498	$4188
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	6 km	9 km
🎓 Higher education	30	99
😀 Quality of life	85	100
🏙️ Population	381K	5.45M

The cost of living in Canberra is 21% less expensive than in Sydney. Cities ranked 1373rd and 370th ($2258 vs $2844) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 12th and 1st in Australia.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Canberra compared to 1.5 months in Sydney. Ranked 10th vs 2nd best cities to live in Australia, and 438th vs 2nd 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/sydney.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Canberra vs Sydney infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/canberra/sydney" target="_blank">Canberra vs Sydney - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Canberra vs Sydney

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

	Canberra	Sydney
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$15.6	$15.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$73.7	$81.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.5	$11.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.03	$7.3
☕ Cappuccino	$3.75	$3.97
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.24	$2.71
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1459	$2215
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1187	$1420
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2549	$3992
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1714	$2582
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$117	$126
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$179	$193
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$50.8	$50.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.83%	5.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$9940	$12962
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6181	$7403
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.2	$3.96
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$86.9	$117
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$16.7	$20.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.32	$1.39
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.44	$1.74
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.66	$2.28
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.17	$2.09
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.41	$5.78
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.4	$13.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.1	$9.72
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.7	$15.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.74	$3.62
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.29	$3.08
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.68	$3.19
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.65	$4.73
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.91	$2.9
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.73	$2.27
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.01	$0.72
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.28	$2.95
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16	$16.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.69	$4.08
🚬 Cigarette pack	$26.9	$28.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.98	$8.18
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.85	$4.65
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.55	$3.58
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.09	$3.34
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$62.8	$66
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.4	$17.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$53.7	$70
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.2	$21.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$80	$77.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$119	$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$2338	$2275
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$17844	$25164

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	$1795
161 km or 100 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1608
187 km or 116 mi	Wollongong	$1695
212 km or 132 mi	Bathurst	$1701
223 km or 139 mi	Orange	$1460
235 km or 146 mi	Blacktown	$1709
238 km or 148 mi	Parramatta	$2481
243 km or 151 mi	Kellyville	$2040
247 km or 154 mi	Sydney	$2844
261 km or 162 mi	Dee Why	$2354
303 km or 188 mi	Griffith	$1825
341 km or 212 mi	Dubbo	$1855
357 km or 222 mi	Shepparton	$1816
358 km or 222 mi	Newcastle	$1995
397 km or 246 mi	Traralgon	$2000
448 km or 278 mi	Pakenham	$1936
454 km or 282 mi	Berwick	$1915
459 km or 285 mi	Dandenong	$1913
464 km or 288 mi	Cranbourne	$1810
466 km or 289 mi	South Yarra	$1834
466 km or 290 mi	Bendigo	$1493
466 km or 290 mi	Melbourne	$2543
470 km or 292 mi	Sunbury	$1933
477 km or 297 mi	Frankston	$1889
485 km or 302 mi	Melton	$1896
488 km or 303 mi	Tarneit	$1813
489 km or 304 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1847
531 km or 330 mi	Geelong	$2179
535 km or 332 mi	Ballarat	$1606
554 km or 344 mi	Port Macquarie	$1786
583 km or 362 mi	Armidale	$1273
649 km or 403 mi	Mildura	$1905
669 km or 415 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2132
684 km or 425 mi	Warrnambool	$1876
698 km or 434 mi	Devonport	$1868
706 km or 438 mi	Launceston	$1728
796 km or 495 mi	Mount Gambier	$1880
852 km or 529 mi	Byron Bay	$2672
858 km or 533 mi	Hobart	$2364
902 km or 560 mi	Toowoomba	$1720

Cities near Sydney

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi	Dee Why	$2354
19 km or 12 mi	Parramatta	$2481
29 km or 18 mi	Kellyville	$2040
29 km or 18 mi	Blacktown	$1709
69 km or 43 mi	Wollongong	$1695
117 km or 73 mi	Newcastle	$1995
158 km or 98 mi	Bathurst	$1701
168 km or 104 mi	Goulburn	$1795
205 km or 127 mi	Orange	$1460
247 km or 154 mi	Canberra	$2258
301 km or 187 mi	Dubbo	$1855
314 km or 195 mi	Port Macquarie	$1786
377 km or 234 mi	Armidale	$1273
378 km or 235 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1608
436 km or 271 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2132
478 km or 297 mi	Griffith	$1825
597 km or 371 mi	Shepparton	$1816
624 km or 388 mi	Byron Bay	$2672
638 km or 396 mi	Traralgon	$2000
683 km or 425 mi	Gold Coast	$2530
689 km or 428 mi	Southport	$2341
695 km or 432 mi	Pakenham	$1936
701 km or 436 mi	Berwick	$1915
706 km or 439 mi	Bendigo	$1493
706 km or 439 mi	Toowoomba	$1720
707 km or 439 mi	Dandenong	$1913
711 km or 442 mi	Ipswich	$1825
711 km or 442 mi	Cranbourne	$1810
713 km or 443 mi	South Yarra	$1834
713 km or 443 mi	Melbourne	$2543
716 km or 445 mi	Sunbury	$1933
724 km or 450 mi	Frankston	$1889
732 km or 455 mi	Melton	$1896
733 km or 455 mi	Brisbane	$2323
735 km or 457 mi	Tarneit	$1813
736 km or 457 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1847
775 km or 481 mi	Caboolture	$1992
778 km or 484 mi	Geelong	$2179
779 km or 484 mi	Ballarat	$1606
807 km or 502 mi	Caloundra	$1863