How much does it cost to live in Adelaide?
Typical Month (Mid Range)
$1,860 (A$2,610)
Housing, food, transport, mobile, coworking and gym.
Updated September 2026 · Sources cited: bambooroutes.com, digitalnomadexchange.com
- Typical Month (Lower End)
- $1,040 (A$1,460)
- Typical Month (Premium)
- $2,887 (A$4,051)
Good to know
Good to Know
- Cost-of-living sources disagree noticeably on Adelaide grocery budgets (estimates range from roughly $330 to $600+ AUD/month for one person) — actual spend depends heavily on whether you shop at Aldi/home-brand or full-price supermarkets.
- BYO (bring your own alcohol) restaurants are common in Adelaide and can make dining out noticeably cheaper than in Sydney or Melbourne.
- South Australia has some of the highest electricity costs in the country, so factor this into any 'utilities included' comparison when picking an apartment.
- Live, itemized monthly furnished-rental listings for Adelaide are thinner than for larger Australian cities — treat the housing figures here as a reasonable planning range rather than a guaranteed live-listing price, and check current listings on realestate.com.au, Domain, or Flatmates before committing.
- Australia has no dedicated digital nomad visa; most nomads from the US/UK/EU rely on a standard visitor visa (eVisitor or ETA) capped at 3 months per stay, so genuinely long stays require exiting and re-entering or applying for a longer visitor visa.
- Coworking prices vary a lot by operator and contract length in Adelaide — day passes range roughly from $30 to $65+ AUD depending on the space, so it pays to compare a few CBD venues before committing to a monthly membership.
- Adelaide's tram network is free to ride within the city centre (between the CBD and a point past South Terrace) — you only need to tap on for the stretch out to Glenelg, which can save money if you're staying central.
- Foreigners aren't covered by Medicare, so factor in either private travel/health insurance or an Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) policy for the duration of your stay — GP visits are billed in full out of pocket otherwise.
Monthly Totals
- Mid-range month
- A$2,610
Includes 5 estimated components
- Lean month
- A$1,460
Includes 3 estimated components
- Comfortable month
- A$4,051
Includes 7 estimated components
Living Costs
- Where nomads live
- No single 'digital nomad district' is documented for Adelaide, but expat/relocation guides consistently point to the CBD and near-CBD pockets — North Adelaide, Kent Town, Bowden, and the East End — plus beachside Glenelg, as where professionals and remote workers actually cluster. Housing figures below are grounded in these areas (CBD/North Adelaide 'city centre' pricing, with inner-suburb figures noted separately).
Housing (per month)
- Mid-range 1-bed
- A$1,518
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio (Numbeo-style cost aggregator) states '1 Bedroom Apartment (City Center) $1,518.03' for Adelaide.
- Budget studio / 1-bed
- A$1,025
Estimated
Costliving.net blog states one-bedroom apartments in inner suburbs (Norwood, Fullarton, North Adelaide) range $850-$1,200/month; figure here is the midpoint of that stated range, so recorded as estimated.
- Premium apartment
- A$2,500
Estimated
No exact premium furnished monthly rate was published by the serviced-apartment platforms found (Blueground, Airbnb monthly, Flatio all list CBD/North Adelaide inventory but did not surface a specific monthly price in the sources we checked). Estimated based on typical premium 1-2BR serviced/CBD apartment pricing relative to the mid-tier figure.
- Private room in a shared home
- A$900
Estimated
No live share-house listing site was retrieved. Estimated at roughly 60% of the CBD/North Adelaide 1BR mid-range rent (a common ratio for a private room in a shared house), since no single listing figure was found for this tier.
Groceries
- Groceries for one (month)
- A$329
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio states monthly groceries for a single person cost $329 AUD in Adelaide.
Sample prices
Milk 1L
- Milk 1L
- A$1.31
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio lists Milk 1L at $1.31 AUD for Adelaide.
Bread 500g
- Bread 500g
- A$1.99
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio lists Bread 500g at $1.99 AUD for Adelaide.
Eggs (12)
- Eggs (12)
- A$3.98
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio lists Eggs (12) at $3.98 AUD for Adelaide.
Chicken Breast 1kg
- Chicken Breast 1kg
- A$6.28
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio lists Chicken Breast 1kg at $6.28 AUD for Adelaide.
Rice 1kg
- Rice 1kg
- A$2.09
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio lists Rice 1kg at $2.09 AUD for Adelaide.
Water 1.5L (Store)
- Water 1.5L (Store)
- A$1.58
Survey / cost-of-living site
Nomadlio lists Water 1.5L at $1.58 AUD (store price) for Adelaide.
Eating out
- Cheap meal
- A$8.80
Estimated
Nomadlio lists 'Inexpensive Meal' at $11.73 AUD for Adelaide. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 11.73 AUD reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
- High-end meal
- A$90
Estimated
No source directly stated a high-end per-person figure for Adelaide; estimated from typical high-end restaurant pricing in an Australian capital city relative to the mid-range figure.
- Mid-range meal
- A$26
Estimated
Nomadlio lists 'Mid-Range Meal' at $69.67 AUD, which per standard Numbeo-style methodology is a meal for two people; halved here to $34.84 for one person, so recorded as estimated. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 34.84 AUD reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Work, Transport & Essentials
Coworking
- Day pass
- A$40
Survey / cost-of-living site
Wise blog guide to Adelaide coworking spaces lists Hub Australia's Adelaide location day pass cost as 'From $40 for a day pass'.
- Monthly hot desk
- A$300
Estimated
Midpoint of the $250-$350/month 'flexible (8 days a month) access' tier quoted for Hub Australia Adelaide, used as proxy for a hot-desk-style monthly product since no single space published a true unlimited hot-desk monthly rate.
Transport
- Single ride
- A$3.98
Survey / cost-of-living site
Adelaide public transport guide states 'A regular adult MetroCard fare costs $3.98 per trip in peak hours (and $2.20 off-peak)'.
- Monthly pass
- A$116
Official figure
SA Minister for Infrastructure and Transport quoted stating 'a regular 28-day Metrocard costing $115.5 compared to $200 in Sydney'.
Mobile & data
- Monthly plan
- A$45
Estimated
Estimated based on typical mid-tier prepaid SIM plans from major Australian carriers/MVNOs (e.g. Telstra, Optus, Boost, amaysim); not confirmed via a live carrier page at the time of research.
Short Stays (per night)
- Seasonal pricing
- Yes
- Why
- Adelaide exhibits a clear high-season surge during summer months (December–February) when major festivals drive demand, and again during February–March for Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival of Arts, with accommodation pricing rising 30–86% above low-season baseline; low-season pricing drops substantially June–August.
Low season
- Budget
- A$103
2-star hotel from Momondo (June avg AUD$103/night, baseline low-season rate)
- Luxury
- A$280
5-star hotel estimated from Booking.com (current evening avg AUD$231; low-season June–Aug ~20% discount yields ~AUD$280)
- Premium
- A$150
4-star hotel from Trip.com (Jan 13–15, 2026: AUD$150/night weekend; June–August low-season baseline consistent with this floor)
- Standard
- A$119
3-star hotel from Momondo (baseline avg AUD$119/night year-round; June–August pricing confirmed 20–21% lower than high season)
High season
- Budget
- A$145
2-star hotel average from Momondo data (2-star hotels avg AUD$103/night baseline; high-season peak Dec–Feb estimated 40% premium yields ~AUD$145)
- Luxury
- A$520
5-star hotel from Trip.com weekend data (Jan 13–15, 2026: AUD$284/night baseline; high-season 83% premium yields ~AUD$520). Named luxury examples: The Playford MGallery by Sofitel, Stamford Plaza Adelaide, Hilton Adelaide.
- Premium
- A$285
4-star hotel from Trip.com data (Jan 13–15, 2026: AUD$150/night baseline; high-season 90% premium yields ~AUD$285)
- Standard
- A$210
3-star hotel average from Trip.com weekend data (Jan 13–15, 2026: AUD$115/night baseline; high-season pricing ~82% higher yields ~AUD$210)
Low-season months
- June
- July
- August
High-season months
- December
- January
- February
- March
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this cost of living research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Adelaide
Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.