✦ Compare
Melbourne vs
Sydney
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Melbourne, AU vs Sydney, AU at a glance — Sydney, AU is 8% more expensive than Melbourne, AU overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $2,200/mo versus $1,800/mo. The top national income-tax rate is 45%.
To keep the same standard of living in Sydney, AU, you'd need
$81,067 / year
Sydney, AU is 8% more expensive overall
Category breakdown (Sydney, AU vs Melbourne, AU)
- Housing+17%
- Food & groceries+3%
- Transport+5%
- Utilities+2%
- Healthcare0%
- Goods & services+3%
◎ How Melbourne, AU and Sydney, AU compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Melbourne, AU | Sydney, AU | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 118 | 128 |
| Housing | 138 | 162 |
| Food | 112 | 115 |
| Transport | 100 | 105 |
| Utilities | 108 | 110 |
| Healthcare | 95 | 95 |
| Goods & services | 116 | 120 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,800/mo | $2,200/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,350/mo | $1,650/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $3,400/mo | $4,200/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $9,000 | $12,000 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $847 | $784 |
| Inexpensive meal | $17 | $18 |
| Monthly transit pass | $110 | $130 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 45% | 45% |
| VAT / sales tax | 10% | 10% |
| Corporate tax | 30% | 30% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $3,900/mo | $3,900/mo |
| Minimum wage | $2,600/mo | $2,600/mo |
| GDP per capita | $65,130✓ | $65,130✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | 2.9%✓ | 2.9%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | No | No |
| English proficiency | Native | Native |
| Coworking spaces | 70 | 90 |
| Time zone | UTC+10 | UTC+10 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 73 | 74 |
| Safety index | 68 | 74 |
| Healthcare index | 85 | 85 |
| Pollution index | 30 | 30 |
| Internet speed | 90 Mbps | 90 Mbps |
| Walkability | 78 | 78 |
| Public transport | 80 | 80 |
| Family-friendly | 74 | 76 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Life expectancy | 83 yr✓ | 83 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +20 °C | +23 °C |
| July avg | +10 °C | +13 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 180 | 236 |
| Rainfall / year | 600 mm | 1,210 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1.5 h | 3 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Australia vs Australia. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Melbourne vs Sydney — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Melbourne
Coffee, laneways and a famously liveable city — cheaper than Sydney, with famously changeable weather.
- Currency
- Australian dollar ($ AUD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC+10
- Internet
- 90 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 68/100
- Climate
- ❄ 20°C · ☀ 10°C · 180 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- I · 230V
- Driving
- Left-hand side
- Popular areas
- Fitzroy · St Kilda · Carlton
Good to know before you move to Sydney
Beaches, sunshine and a high quality of life — for a price, with housing among the least affordable in the developed world.
- Currency
- Australian dollar ($ AUD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC+10
- Internet
- 90 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 74/100
- Climate
- ❄ 23°C · ☀ 13°C · 236 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- I · 230V
- Driving
- Left-hand side
- Popular areas
- Surry Hills · Bondi · Newtown
Plan your move to Melbourne
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
Sponsored
Plan your move to Sydney
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Melbourne to Sydney: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Melbourne to Sydney, your cost of living will be roughly 8% more expensive. Sydney’s cost-of-living index is 128 versus 118 for Melbourne (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Melbourne cheaper than Sydney?
Sydney is about 8% more expensive than Melbourne overall — its cost-of-living index is 128 versus 118 for Melbourne.
Which is more expensive, Melbourne or Sydney?
Sydney is more expensive than Melbourne. Its cost-of-living index is 128 vs 118 (US = 100) — about 8% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Melbourne or Sydney?
Rent is cheaper in Melbourne — about $1,800/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $2,200 in Sydney.
How much do you need to earn in Sydney to live like in Melbourne?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Melbourne is worth about $81,067 in Sydney. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Melbourne or Sydney?
Both cities are in the same country, so national income tax (45%) and VAT are identical; only local cost of living differs.
◷ More comparisons from Melbourne
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.