Cost of Living in Sydney, 🇦🇺 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 7 8 11 12 15 $3,511 $2,215 $2,850 $1,420 $140

Utilities 10 7 1 — $139 $193 $126 —

Internet & Mobile 5 19 1 $85 $81 $111 $81 $2

Groceries 16 17 20 1 $168 $210 $520 $168 $9

Transportation 3 4 $211 $241 $420 $176 $32

Dining Out 20 21 22 23 24 1 $1,155 $420 $520 $123 $78

Leisure Activities 9 13 25 1 $190 $287 $4,454 $110 $42

Health Insurance 9 $68 $105 $279 — $2

Visa & Legal Fees 11 $5 $5 $20 — $0

Total $5,393 $3,703 $9,367 $2,204 $305

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 15 1 $2,215.38 $1,420 – $2,680 per month

Coworking Space 6 $306.90 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 7 12 $3,511.19 $3,080 – $7,515 per month

Coliving Space 8 10 $1,258.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 20 1 $3.97 per cup

Beer 17 1 $7.30 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 22 21 1 $15.40 per meal

Fast Food Combo 21 1 $11.56 per meal

Apples 16 1 $3.62 per kg

Bread 32 1 $2.09 per loaf

Milk 31 1 $1.22 per liter

Rice 16 1 $2.09 per kg

Chicken Fillets 33 1 $8.36 per kg

Beef 34 1 $14.64 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 17 1 $16.40 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 23 24 1 $81.57 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 16 1 $2.09 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 3 $3.61 per trip

Taxi per km 3 $1.82 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 4 $151.12 per month

Gasoline 26 2 $1.63 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 3 $13.95 per trip

Scooter Rental 3 1 $27.90 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 5 $30.69 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 19 1 $50.09 per month

Gym Membership 25 1 $65.96 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 13 $26.71 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 5 $1.39 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 30 27 $11.51 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 14 1 $77.29 per pair

Summer Dress 14 1 $27.90 per dress

Running Shoes 29 1 $110.97 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 20 1 $21.42 per visit

Laundry — per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 18 1 $70.03 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 29 1 $8.18 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 Hanoi, London, New York, Newcastle, Auckland

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 4786.02 3511.19
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 2217.05 2215.38
- Apples 3.66 3.62
- Beef 19.71 14.64
- Beer 8.8 7.3
40 more changes
- Bread 3.17 2.09
- Chicken Fillets 13.02 8.36
- Cinema Ticket 18.3 11.51
- Coffee 4.08 3.97
- Coliving Space 1689.18 1258
- Coworking Space 457.49 306.9
- Dining Out local 175.96, nomad 1266.89, expat 422.3, family 563.06, tourist 91.5 local 123, nomad 1155, expat 420, family 520, tourist 78
- Doctor Visit (GP) 66.86 70.03
- Fast Food Combo 11.61 11.56
- Gasoline 1.58 1.63
- Groceries local 351.91, nomad 175.96, expat 457.49, family 1126.12, tourist 10.56 local 168, expat 210, family 520, tourist 9
- Gym Membership 66.86 65.96
- Haircut 45.75 21.42
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 77.42, expat 126.69, family 295.61, tourist 3.52 local 0, nomad 67.69, expat 104.62, family 279, tourist 2.26
- Housing local 1478.04, nomad 3378.37, expat 2393.01, family 3871.05, tourist 197.07 local 1420.13, nomad 3511.19, expat 2215.38, family 2850, tourist 140
- Internet & Mobile local 52.79, nomad 84.46, expat 77.42, family 126.69, tourist 5.63 local 80.78, nomad 85.09, family 111.47, tourist 1.57
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 59.83 50.09
- Jeans 95.02 77.29
- Laundry 9.85 not set
- Leisure Activities local 105.57, nomad 316.72, expat 246.34, family 422.3, tourist 42.23 local 110.28, nomad 189.82, expat 286.97, family 4454.09, tourist 42
- Meal (Inexpensive) 17.6 15.4
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 102.05 81.57
- Milk 1.83 1.22
- Mobile Plan 38.71 30.69
- Monthly Transport Pass 165.4 151.12
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 12.67 8.18
- Rice 2.67 2.09
- Ride-hailing (5km) 15.48 13.95
- Running Shoes 130.21 110.97
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 28.15 1.39
- Scooter Rental 12.67 27.9
- Summer Dress 63.34 27.9
- Taxi Start 3.24 3.61
- Taxi per km 2.01 1.82
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 22.52 26.71
- Transportation local 126.69, nomad 154.84, expat 154.84, family 457.49, tourist 31.67 local 176.12, nomad 211.12, expat 241.12, family 420, tourist 32
- Utilities local 154.84, nomad 0, expat 197.07, family 316.72, tourist 0 local 126.32, nomad 0, expat 138.95, family 193.36, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 14.08, expat 42.23, family 84.46, tourist 0.7 local 0, nomad 4.65, expat 5, family 20, tourist 0.47
- Water (1.5L bottle) 2.39 2.09
- Wine (Mid-range) 16.89 16.4
Bread, Milk, Chicken Fillets and Cinema Ticket moved to ALDI product finder and My NRMA Event tariff (aldi.com.au, aldi.com.au, aldi.com.au, mynrma.com.au). Running Shoes source index corrected to JB Hi-Fi [29].

Sydney cost of living