Cost of Living in Newcastle, 🇦🇺 Australia - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 23, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 15 16 1 $1,953 $1,965 $2,417 $1,500 $105

Utilities 22 1 — $98 $119 $77 —

Internet & Mobile 5 6 18 1 $77 $90 $106 $90 $5

Groceries 17 23 24 25 26 1 $167 $454 $1,021 $395 $9

Transportation 1 2 3 $171 $129 $244 $48 $19

Dining Out 31 20 23 1 $884 $195 $314 $152 $35

Leisure Activities 29 11 14 1 $72 $56 $1,547 $48 $15

Health Insurance 8 $68 $105 $279 — $2

Visa & Legal Fees 9 10 $7 $24 $36 — $0

Total $3,399 $3,116 $6,083 $2,310 $190

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 15 16 1 $1,500.31 $1,256 – $1,965 per month

Coworking Space 7 $279.15 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 15 1 $1,953.02 $1,674 – $2,232 per month

Coliving Space 1 7 $523.12 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 20 1 $3.84 per cup

Beer 31 17 1 $5.36 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 31 20 1 $11.79 per meal

Fast Food Combo 23 1 $7.04 per meal

Apples 24 1 $2.37 per kg

Bread 25 1 $1.51 per loaf

Milk 26 1 $0.91 per liter

Rice 17 1 $1.25 per kg

Chicken Fillets 24 1 $5.83 per kg

Beef 30 1 $11.16 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 17 1 $7.53 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 31 1 $57.75 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 27 1 $1.00 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 2 $3.61 per trip

Taxi per km 2 $1.82 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 1 3 $57.75 per month

Gasoline 4 $1.63 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 2 $12.71 per trip

Scooter Rental 2 1 $8.37 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 5 6 $32.88 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 18 $55.09 per month

Gym Membership 29 1 $27.69 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 14 $17.44 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 5 $11.86 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 36 34 $11.51 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 32 1 $56.71 per pair

Summer Dress 32 1 $45.34 per dress

Running Shoes 33 1 $80.91 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 31 1 $11.72 per visit

Laundry 12 13 $36.28 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 19 1 $35.85 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 35 1 $6.53 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 23, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 1.4337 AUD on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Sydney, Melbourne, Hanoi, London, Auckland

Livingcost Newcastle basket (food out, utilities, groceries cross-check)Index
NSW urban taxi hire $5.17 flagfall, $2.61/km (Newcastle urban area)Official
Adult Opal weekly travel cap $50Official
Australia Octane-95 AUD 2.33/litre, 19 Oct 2026Index
Telstra $2 SIM kit; $44/28-day prepaid (20GB ongoing)Official
Vodafone Prepaid Plus $40–$60 packsOfficial
WOTSO Newcastle dedicated coworking desk from $400/monthListings
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
ETA subclass 601 service chargeOfficial
eVisitor subclass 651 no application chargeOfficial
Newcastle Grammar international tuition 2026Official
Uptown Laundry Newcastle self-service wash $8–$12Listings
Self Serve Laundry Co wash $9–$22Listings
Sydney public tennis weekend hire from $19/hr (regional estimate input)Listings
Domain Newcastle 2300 — 1-bed unit rental median $650/weekListings
Domain Hamilton — sample 1-bed rental $570/weekListings
ALDI Imperial Grain long grain rice 2kg $3.59Shop
Telstra nbn plans from $69/mth (50–100 Mbps tiers)Official
MBS item 23 GP consultation fee $45.05Official
Foundry Cafe on King cappuccino regular $5.50Listings
Numbeo Newcastle crowdsourced basket cross-checkIndex
AEMC NSW representative annual electricity bill ~$903 (2,500 kWh)Secondary
McDonald’s AU Big Mac $17.50; McDonaldland Meal $20.25Listings
ALDI Basa fillets $7.29/kgShop
ALDI fruit lines e.g. peach slices 825g $2.39Shop
ALDI bakery rolls and loaves catalogueShop
ALDI milk and cream catalogueShop
ALDI bottled water catalogueShop
NUsport Newcastle community gym from $17.25/weekListings
ALDI seafood Barramundi fillets $19.99/kgShop
Great Northern Hotel Newcastle schooner/beer from $11; pub meals $16–$21Listings
Lowes menswear jeans range (national chain)Listings
Skechers AU mens footwear catalogueListings
Event Cinemas Charlestown (Hunter region multiplex)Listings
Amcal Panadol Extra caplets 16-pack listingShop
My NRMA Event Cinemas partner tariffs — Original Adult $16.50Secondary

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 3378.37 1953.02
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 1513.23 1500.31
- Apples 3.66 2.37
- Beef 17.24 11.16
- Beer 7.39 5.36
40 more changes
- Bread 2.89 1.51
- Chicken Fillets 12.32 5.83
- Cinema Ticket 16.19 11.51
- Coffee 3.87 3.84
- Coliving Space 1302.08 523.12
- Coworking Space 316.72 279.15
- Dining Out local 168.92, nomad 1266.89, expat 422.3, family 563.06, tourist 77.42 local 152.05, nomad 884.08, expat 195.02, family 313.89, tourist 35.37
- Doctor Visit (GP) 66.86 35.85
- Fast Food Combo 11.61 7.04
- Gasoline 1.51 1.63
- Groceries local 387.1, nomad 175.96, expat 457.49, family 985.36, tourist 10.56 local 395.48, nomad 167.4, expat 454.3, family 1021.41, tourist 8.5
- Gym Membership 52.79 27.69
- Haircut 31.67 11.72
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 77.42, expat 126.69, family 316.72 local 0, nomad 67.69, expat 104.62, family 279, tourist 2.26
- Housing local 1337.27, nomad 2533.78, expat 1689.18, family 2393.01, tourist 126.69 local 1500.31, nomad 1953.02, expat 1964.81, family 2417.33, tourist 104.62
- Internet & Mobile local 63.34, nomad 98.54, expat 84.46, family 126.69, tourist 7.04 local 90.33, nomad 76.79, family 106.02, tourist 4.5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 59.83 55.09
- Jeans 87.98 56.71
- Laundry 8.45 36.28
- Leisure Activities local 105.57, nomad 316.72, expat 211.15, family 351.91, tourist 24.63 local 48.34, nomad 71.9, expat 55.8, family 1547.05, tourist 15
- Meal (Inexpensive) 15.48 11.79
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 80.94 57.75
- Milk 1.83 0.91
- Mobile Plan 31.67 32.88
- Monthly Transport Pass 123.17 57.75
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 13.02 6.53
- Rice 2.39 1.25
- Ride-hailing (5km) 13.72 12.71
- Running Shoes 123.17 80.91
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 24.63 11.86
- Scooter Rental 8.45 8.37
- Summer Dress 59.83 45.34
- Taxi Start 3.52 3.61
- Taxi per km 2.18 1.82
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 19.71 17.44
- Transportation local 126.69, nomad 105.57, expat 246.34, family 422.3, tourist 28.15 local 48.06, nomad 171.41, expat 129.04, family 244.12, tourist 19.03
- Utilities local 154.84, nomad 0, expat 197.07, family 316.72, tourist 0 local 77.42, nomad 0, expat 97.65, family 118.57, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 35.19, expat 70.38, family 105.57 local 0, nomad 6.98, expat 24.41, family 36.27, tourist 0.47
- Water (1.5L bottle) 2.25 1
- Wine (Mid-range) 16.89 7.53
Cinema Ticket 8.93 → 11.51 USD (Event Cinemas Original adult AUD 16.50, mynrma.com.au).

Newcastle cost of living