Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sydney vs. Perth Cost of Living Summary

Sydney is 8.0% more expensive than Perth.

Restaurants
pay 3.3% less in Sydney
Groceries
pay 3.2% more in Sydney
Transportation
pay 16.1% more in Sydney
Housing
pay 15.0% more in Sydney
Childcare
pay 8.4% more in Sydney
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.1% more in Sydney
Clothing
pay 5.2% less in Sydney

The cost of transportation, housing, childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Sydney are more expensive than in Perth. Expenses including clothing and restaurants are lower in Sydney.

Sydney vs. Perth Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sydney instead of Perth, you would:

pay 3.3% less for restaurants

 
Perth
Sydney
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.19
A$29.05
$17.41
A$25.04
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.67
A$15.35
$11.84
A$17.03
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.87
A$4.13
$2.81
A$4.04

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pay 3.2% more for groceries

 
Perth
Sydney
Bread
1 loaf
$3.14
A$4.51
$2.85
A$4.09
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.64
A$6.68
$5.93
A$8.54
Milk (1 gallon) $6.56
A$9.44
$6.42
A$9.24

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pay 16.1% more for transportation

 
Perth
Sydney
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.20
A$7.47
$5.40
A$7.77
Monthly public transit pass $97.47
A$140.23
$151.36
A$217.75
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,264.76
A$39,224.24
$28,893.97
A$41,568.07

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pay 15.0% more for housing

 
Perth
Sydney
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$63.36
A$91.15
$56.21
A$80.87
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,952.70
A$2,809.24
$2,517.32
A$3,621.52
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,634.39
A$2,351.30
$1,743.66
A$2,508.51

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pay 8.4% more for childcare

 
Perth
Sydney
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,297.67
A$3,305.53
$2,195.71
A$3,158.84
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,129.10
A$33,274.49
$28,441.13
A$40,916.61

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pay 3.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Perth
Sydney
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.35
A$12.02
$7.66
A$11.02
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.45
A$6.41
$3.97
A$5.72
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$41.77
A$60.10
$44.55
A$64.09

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pay 5.2% less for clothing

 
Perth
Sydney
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$77.69
A$111.77
$78.68
A$113.19
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$65.03
A$93.55
$69.62
A$100.16
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$122.65
A$176.46
$111.40
A$160.26

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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