Cost of living comparison

United Kingdom

compared to

Australia

Sydney vs. Perth Cost of Living Summary

Sydney is 53.4% more expensive than Perth.

Restaurants: pay 18.1% less in Sydney
Groceries: pay 56.5% more in Sydney
Transportation: pay 5.1% less in Sydney
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Sydney
Childcare: pay 81.6% more in Sydney
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.9% more in Sydney
Clothing: pay 22.2% more in Sydney

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

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Sydney vs. Perth Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.1% less for restaurants

	Perth	Sydney
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	$11.84 A$16.84	-25.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.44 £1.82	$2.81 A$4.00	+15.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.65 £1.24	$2.22 A$3.15	+34.1%
Average			-18.1%

Perth vs. Sydney - Cost of restaurants

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pay 56.5% more for groceries

	Perth	Sydney
Bread 1 loaf	$1.37 £1.03	$2.85 A$4.05	+107.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.98 £2.98	$5.93 A$8.44	+49.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.33 £3.99	$6.42 A$9.13	+20.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.37 £1.77	$5.56 A$7.90	+134.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.91 £2.93	$4.34 A$6.17	+10.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 £0.76	$1.81 A$2.57	+77.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 £0.55	$1.45 A$2.07	+97.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.14 £0.85	$1.56 A$2.22	+36.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.00 £1.49	$1.98 A$2.82	-0.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 £0.51	$1.48 A$2.10	+117.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.78 £0.58	$1.07 A$1.52	+37.3%
Average			+56.5%

Perth vs. Sydney - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.1% less for transportation

	Perth	Sydney
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.10 £5.31	$5.40 A$7.68	-23.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$86.18 £64.44	$151.36 A$215.30	+75.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,357.36 £25,688.72	$28,893.97 A$41,100.95	-15.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.65 £19.18	$16.24 A$23.10	-36.7%
Average			-5.1%

Perth vs. Sydney - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Perth	Sydney
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.68 £26.68	$56.21 A$79.96	+57.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$693.75 £518.71	$2,517.32 A$3,580.82	+262.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$561.61 £419.91	$1,743.66 A$2,480.32	+210.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$469.14 £350.77	$168.46 A$239.63	-64.1%
Average			+131.1%

Perth vs. Sydney - Cost of housing

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pay 81.6% more for childcare

	Perth	Sydney
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,209.11 £904.05	$2,195.71 A$3,123.34	+81.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$28,441.13 A$40,456.80
Average			+81.6%

Perth vs. Sydney - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Perth	Sydney
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.34 £4.74	$7.66 A$10.89	+20.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.01 £3.00	$3.97 A$5.65	-0.9%
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	$75.28 A$107.09	+127.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.54 £10.87	$17.41 A$24.76	+19.7%
Average			+43.9%

Perth vs. Sydney - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.2% more for clothing

	Perth	Sydney
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$90.30 £67.52	$78.68 A$111.91	-12.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.05 £32.93	$69.62 A$99.04	+58.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.07 £49.40	$111.40 A$158.46	+68.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$138.75 £103.74	$133.24 A$189.52	-4.0%
Average			+22.2%

Perth vs. Sydney - 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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