Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mechelen vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary
Mechelen is 29.8% cheaper than Sydney.
Mechelen vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mechelen instead of Sydney, you would:
pay 22.7% more for restaurants
|
Sydney
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.41
A$24.76
|
$22.39
€19.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.84
A$16.84
|
$13.44
€11.99
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.81
A$4.00
|
$3.43
€3.06
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
A$3.15
|
$2.89
€2.58
|
|
Sydney vs. Mechelen - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.1% less for groceries
|
Sydney
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.85
A$4.05
|
$2.74
€2.45
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.93
A$8.44
|
$8.62
€7.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.42
A$9.13
|
$4.48
€4.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.56
A$7.90
|
$3.71
€3.31
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.34
A$6.17
|
$5.42
€4.84
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.81
A$2.57
|
$1.25
€1.12
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.45
A$2.07
|
$1.08
€0.97
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.56
A$2.22
|
$1.17
€1.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.98
A$2.82
|
$1.31
€1.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
A$2.10
|
$0.97
€0.87
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.07
A$1.52
|
$0.87
€0.78
|
|
Sydney vs. Mechelen - Cost of groceries
pay 1.1% less for transportation
|
Sydney
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.40
A$7.68
|
$7.82
€6.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$151.36
A$215.30
|
$54.87
€48.97
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,893.97
A$41,100.95
|
$35,462.03
€31,651.21
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.24
A$23.10
|
$27.10
€24.19
|
|
Sydney vs. Mechelen - Cost of transportation
pay 52.1% less for housing
|
Sydney
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$56.21
A$79.96
|
$47.40
€42.31
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,517.32
A$3,580.82
|
$933.11
€832.84
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,743.66
A$2,480.32
|
$783.81
€699.58
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$168.46
A$239.63
|
$156.74
€139.90
|
|
Sydney vs. Mechelen - Cost of housing
pay 56.2% less for childcare
|
Sydney
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,195.71
A$3,123.34
|
$559.87
€499.70
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,441.13
A$40,456.80
|
$21,386.95
€19,088.66
|
|
Sydney vs. Mechelen - Cost of childcare
pay 35.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sydney
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.66
A$10.89
|
$5.49
€4.90
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.97
A$5.65
|
$4.29
€3.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$44.55
A$63.37
|
$13.13
€11.72
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.28
A$107.09
|
$29.86
€26.65
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.41
A$24.76
|
$15.12
€13.49
|
|
Sydney vs. Mechelen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.6% more for clothing
|
Sydney
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$78.68
A$111.91
|
$107.90
€96.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$69.62
A$99.04
|
$49.83
€44.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$111.40
A$158.46
|
$107.76
€96.18
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.24
A$189.52
|
$149.69
€133.61
|
|
Sydney vs. Mechelen - Cost of clothing
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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