How much does it cost to live in Brisbane?
Typical Month (Mid Range)
$2,968 (A$4,165)
Housing, food, transport, mobile, coworking and gym.
Updated September 2026 · Sources cited: australia.trovit.com, muval.com.au
- Typical Month (Lower End)
- $1,324 (A$1,858)
- Typical Month (Premium)
- $4,907 (A$6,886)
Good to know
Good to Know
- Brisbane rents have risen sharply in recent years, so short-term furnished listings in inner-city areas like Fortitude Valley can carry a real premium over long-term unfurnished leases — budget above generic 'cost of living' averages if you need a flexible, furnished stay.
- Grocery and dining-out figures for a single person are noticeably cheaper than furnished housing here, so if you're trying to cut costs, negotiating a longer-stay housing discount usually matters more than trimming food spend.
- Watch for listings that quote weekly rent (a very common Australian convention) — always double-check whether a price you're seeing is per week or per month before comparing options.
- Brisbane's public transport is now extremely cheap: Translink charges a flat 50-cent fare per journey network-wide, regardless of distance or mode (bus, train, ferry, tram), so a monthly pass isn't really necessary.
- You can tap on with a regular contactless debit/credit card or phone wallet on Translink — no need to buy a physical go card unless you want concession pricing.
- Brisbane's coworking scene clusters around the CBD, South Brisbane, Fortitude Valley and New Farm — Fortitude Valley/New Farm options tend to be a bit more relaxed and slightly cheaper than corporate CBD clubs like WeWork or Christie Spaces.
- Medicare (Australia's public health system) generally does not cover foreign visitors unless your country has a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia, so budget for private GP fees or travel/nomad health insurance.
- There is no dedicated Australian digital nomad visa — working remotely for a foreign employer while on a visitor visa sits in a legal grey area many nomads use anyway, but for a stay of 3+ months you'll likely need to apply for a Visitor visa (subclass 600) rather than relying on the free short-stay eVisitor/ETA.
Monthly Totals
- Mid-range month
- A$4,165
Includes 4 estimated components
- Lean month
- A$1,858
Includes 3 estimated components
- Comfortable month
- A$6,886
Includes 6 estimated components
Living Costs
- Where nomads live
- No single official 'nomad district' is tracked by any survey, but Fortitude Valley, West End, and South Brisbane (inner-city, walkable to CBD, dense with cafes/co-working) are where short-term furnished listings and expat-oriented rentals concentrate; housing figures below reflect these areas.
Housing (per month)
- Mid-range 1-bed
- A$2,946
Local listing
Trovit listing: furnished 1-bedroom apartment, 604/398 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley, $680/week (converted to monthly at $680 x 52/12).
- Budget studio / 1-bed
- A$3,120
Local listing
Trovit listing: furnished studio, WeAreLiving Brunswick, Fortitude Valley, from $720/week (converted to a monthly figure at $720 x 52/12).
- Premium apartment
- A$5,200
Estimated
No single clean listing for a premium furnished 2BR could be confidently isolated (nearby listings mixed furnished/unfurnished and weekly rates were ambiguous); estimated as a premium markup over the mid-tier furnished 1BR rate for a larger, higher-spec inner-city apartment.
- Private room in a shared home
- A$1,200
Estimated
No live share-house listing was retrieved for this call; figure is an estimate based on typical inner-Brisbane room-share asking rates (roughly AUD 275-300/week), not a specific listing.
Groceries
- What the basket assumes
- Covers one person cooking most meals at home, shopping at a mainstream supermarket (e.g. Coles/Woolworths) rather than premium grocers.
- Groceries for one (month)
- A$427
Survey / cost-of-living site
Blog states basic groceries per person are about $427.13 per month, sourced from Numbeo-style aggregation.
Sample prices
1L Milk
- 1L Milk
- A$2.00
Estimated
General knowledge of typical Coles/Woolworths shelf pricing; no single retrieved source itemized this.
Loaf of White Bread
- Loaf Of White Bread
- A$3.50
Estimated
General knowledge of typical Australian supermarket bread pricing; not from a specific retrieved source.
Dozen Eggs
- Dozen Eggs
- A$6.50
Estimated
General knowledge of typical Australian supermarket egg pricing; not from a specific retrieved source.
1kg Chicken Breast
- 1kg Chicken Breast
- A$13
Estimated
General knowledge of typical Australian supermarket meat pricing; not from a specific retrieved source.
1.5L Bottled Water (Supermarket)
- 1.5L Bottled Water (Supermarket)
- A$2.20
Estimated
General knowledge of typical Australian supermarket bottled-water pricing (store price, not restaurant); not from a specific retrieved source.
Eating out
- Cheap meal
- A$17
Estimated
Blog states an inexpensive restaurant meal costs $22.11. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 22.11 AUD reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
- High-end meal
- A$100
Estimated
No specific high-end dining figure was retrieved for Brisbane at the time of research; estimated based on typical per-person cost at a fine-dining restaurant in an Australian capital city (main course plus drink, no tasting menu).
- Mid-range meal
- A$45
Estimated
Source states a mid-range 3-course meal for two costs $120.60; this figure is that amount halved to represent one person, per instructions. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 60.3 AUD reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Work, Transport & Essentials
Coworking
- Venue
- WOTSO Workspace, Fortitude Valley
- Day pass
- A$50
Survey / cost-of-living site
Wise's Brisbane coworking guide states WOTSO Workspace (Fortitude Valley) daily drop-in access starts 'From $50 a day for daily drop-in'.
- Monthly hot desk
- A$220
Survey / cost-of-living site
Same Wise guide lists WOTSO Workspace hot desking membership at '$220 a month for hot desking'. Note: a separate aggregator (whitepeakdigital.com) quoted WOTSO at $275/month for hot desk, so treat the exact figure as approximate.
Transport
- How to get there
- bus / train / ferry / tram — flat network-wide fare
- About monthly passes
- Translink has moved to a permanent flat 50-cent fare per journey network-wide and discontinued its old zone-based frequent-traveller discounts, so no standard monthly pass product currently exists — most riders simply tap a contactless card or phone each trip.
- Single ride
- A$0.50
Official figure
Translink's official fares page states: 'Public transport fares are a 50 cent flat rate for all Translink services across Queensland, regardless of how far you travel on the network or how you choose to pay.'
Mobile & data
- Carrier
- Telstra
- Monthly plan
- A$62
Survey / cost-of-living site
TechRadar's plan comparison lists the 'Telstra Basic plan | 50GB data | AU$62p/m' as Telstra's cheapest SIM-only option.
- Data allowance
- 50GB
Short Stays (per night)
- Seasonal pricing
- Yes
- Why
- 86% pricing swing between low season ($95) and peak season ($177), driven by dry/mild winter weather (June–August) and Australian school holidays (July, December–January), plus large annual events like Ekka (428,000 visitors) creating sustained high-demand periods.
Low season
- Budget
- A$65
2-star hotel/basic studio Airbnb: Budget Your Trip budget hotels average $95 low season; AirROI entry-level Airbnb $98 AUD. October/June off-peak confirmed by KAYAK motel data.
- Luxury
- A$280
5-star hotel: HotelsCombined reports January 5-star average $125 AUD (lowest month); KAYAK luxury January $221 AUD average. Used conservative mid-range to reflect off-peak penetration.
- Premium
- A$160
4-star hotel: Extrapolated from 3-star low (~$90) vs high (~$180) swing; hotel tiering shows 4-star consistently ~80-90% higher than 3-star within a season.
- Standard
- A$90
3-star hotel: Budget Your Trip low season $90 average; AccommodationBrisbane.org $90 low season explicit figure.
High season
- Budget
- A$135
2-star hotel/basic studio Airbnb: KAYAK data for July high-season budget category, cross-referenced with AirROI entry-level Airbnb rates.
- Luxury
- A$520
5-star hotel: Emporium Hotel South Bank $328 AUD average; W Brisbane $283-$358 recent bookings; KAYAK luxury average $274 AUD but July pricing peaks higher; HotelX reports Star Grand ~$326 AUD starting price.
- Premium
- A$270
4-star hotel: KAYAK reports ~$117 USD base, Emporium South Bank (luxury 5-star) $328 AUD. Pitched as strong mid-luxury property with sustained July demand.
- Standard
- A$180
3-star hotel: Budget Your Trip mid-range high season ($182 AUD), AccommodationBrisbane.org ($150 AUD high season). KAYAK 3-star samples $77-$147 range.
Low-season months
- October
- June
High-season months
- July
- December
- January
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 Brisbane
Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.