Cost of living comparison

United Kingdom

compared to

Australia

Melbourne vs. Perth Cost of Living Summary

Melbourne is 39.9% more expensive than Perth.

Restaurants: pay 15.2% less in Melbourne
Groceries: pay 53.2% more in Melbourne
Transportation: pay 7.5% less in Melbourne
Housing: pay 83.7% more in Melbourne
Childcare: pay 96.4% more in Melbourne
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.6% more in Melbourne
Clothing: pay 14.8% more in Melbourne

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

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Melbourne vs. Perth Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 15.2% less for restaurants

	Perth	Melbourne
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$23.79 £17.78	$17.41 A$24.76	-26.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.86 £11.86	$12.27 A$17.45	-22.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.44 £1.82	$3.10 A$4.41	+27.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.65 £1.24	$2.49 A$3.54	+50.7%
Average			-15.2%

Perth vs. Melbourne - Cost of restaurants

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pay 53.2% more for groceries

	Perth	Melbourne
Bread 1 loaf	$1.37 £1.03	$2.93 A$4.17	+113.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.98 £2.98	$5.24 A$7.46	+31.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.33 £3.99	$5.80 A$8.25	+8.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.37 £1.77	$5.48 A$7.80	+131.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.91 £2.93	$4.44 A$6.31	+13.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 £0.76	$1.84 A$2.62	+81.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 £0.55	$1.38 A$1.97	+88.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.14 £0.85	$1.44 A$2.05	+26.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.00 £1.49	$2.14 A$3.05	+7.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 £0.51	$1.36 A$1.94	+100.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.78 £0.58	$1.14 A$1.62	+46.4%
Average			+53.2%

Perth vs. Melbourne - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.5% less for transportation

	Perth	Melbourne
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.10 £5.31	$5.46 A$7.77	-23.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$86.18 £64.44	$139.25 A$198.08	+61.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,357.36 £25,688.72	$28,538.88 A$40,595.85	-16.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.65 £19.18	$15.56 A$22.14	-39.3%
Average			-7.5%

Perth vs. Melbourne - Cost of transportation

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pay 83.7% more for housing

	Perth	Melbourne
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.68 £26.68	$56.47 A$80.32	+58.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$693.75 £518.71	$1,726.11 A$2,455.35	+148.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$561.61 £419.91	$1,405.75 A$1,999.65	+150.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$469.14 £350.77	$176.73 A$251.40	-62.3%
Average			+83.7%

Perth vs. Melbourne - Cost of housing

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pay 96.4% more for childcare

	Perth	Melbourne
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,209.11 £904.05	$2,374.95 A$3,378.30	+96.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$29,879.04 A$42,502.19
Average			+96.4%

Perth vs. Melbourne - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Perth	Melbourne
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.34 £4.74	$9.75 A$13.87	+53.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.01 £3.00	$4.02 A$5.71	+0.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$20.61 £15.41	$44.55 A$63.37	+116.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.04 £24.70	$50.38 A$71.66	+52.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.54 £10.87	$15.32 A$21.79	+5.4%
Average			+32.6%

Perth vs. Melbourne - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.8% more for clothing

	Perth	Melbourne
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$90.30 £67.52	$80.23 A$114.12	-11.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.05 £32.93	$49.88 A$70.96	+13.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.07 £49.40	$119.33 A$169.74	+80.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$138.75 £103.74	$132.46 A$188.42	-4.5%
Average			+14.8%

Perth vs. Melbourne - Cost of clothing

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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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