Where you live now
MelbourneAustralia
A$3,988
per month
Choose where you live now and another city. You'll see what a normal month costs in each: rent, food, transport, bills and going out.
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Monthly cost for one person, renting in the city centre. Includes rent, food, transport, bills and going out.
| Category | Melbourne | Perth | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 2,419 | 2,348 | −3% |
| Groceries | 507 | 507 | 0% |
| Eating out | 411 | 411 | 0% |
| Getting around | 172 | 172 | 0% |
| Bills | 305 | 305 | 0% |
| Going out | 141 | 141 | 0% |
| Clothes | 32 | 32 | 0% |
| Total per month | 3,988 | 3,917 | −2% |
Perth and Melbourne cost about the same for one person renting in the city centre. The biggest gap is rent (−3%); clothes is the closest (0%). Someone spending A$3,988 a month in Melbourne would need about A$3,917 in Perth for the same lifestyle. Rent takes 60% of the monthly budget in Perth and 61% in Melbourne.
Perth: no reports yet, so these numbers are starting estimates from the city's overall price level.How this is calculated
Prices
The typical price people paid recently, and how it compares with Melbourne. "Estimated" means we don't have many reports yet.
| Item | Typical price | What people paid | vs Melbourne | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cappuccino, regularEstimated | A$5.69 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Meal at an inexpensive restaurantEstimated | A$25.19 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Monthly public transport passEstimated | A$144 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| 1-bedroom flat, city centreEstimated | A$2,348 | −3% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| 1-bedroom flat, outside the centreEstimated | A$1,691 | −3% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Milk, 1 LEstimated | A$1.58 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Eggs, 12Estimated | A$5.91 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Chicken fillets, 1 kgEstimated | A$15.77 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Electricity, water, heating and cooling for 85 m²Estimated | A$242 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Home internet, 60 Mbps or fasterEstimated | A$76.80 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Mobile plan with calls and 10 GB+ dataEstimated | A$70.89 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Gym membership, monthlyEstimated | A$101 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Cinema ticketEstimated | A$20.17 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports | |
| Jeans, Levi's 501 or similarEstimated | A$86.56 | 0% vs Melbourne | 0 reports |
Method
People who live in each city share what they paid. Every price is checked before it counts.
Anyone can add what they paid, in their own currency. No account needed. A quick automatic check keeps bots out.
Typos, wrong currencies and impossible amounts are caught. An unusual price only counts after someone else reports something similar.
We use the middle price of recent reports. When a city has only a few reports, we estimate the rest and label it "Estimated".
No reports in the last 30 days yet. When they arrive, you'll see here how many were counted, held for a second opinion or turned down.
Rankings
Monthly cost for one person renting in the city centre, in Australian dollars. Pick a city to compare it with Melbourne. See all 118 cities
Comparisons
Cities people often weigh up against each other. Monthly cost for one person, rent in the centre included.
Directory
Rent, groceries, eating out and monthly budgets for every city we cover.
FAQ
They cost about the same. One person renting a 1-bedroom flat in the centre spends about A$3,917 a month in Perth and A$3,988 in Melbourne.
A 1-bedroom flat in the centre of Perth rents for about A$2,348 a month, −3% compared with A$2,419 in Melbourne. Outside the centre it's about A$1,691 against A$1,742.
To keep the lifestyle that costs A$3,988 a month in Melbourne, plan on about A$3,917 in Perth for one person. A family of four would need about A$11,042, compared with A$11,191 in Melbourne.
A meal at an inexpensive restaurant is about A$25.19 in Perth and A$25.19 in Melbourne. A regular cappuccino is about A$5.69 against A$5.69.
Add what you paid for rent, groceries or a bus ticket. It takes about a minute and you don't need an account.