Sydney, Melbourne among most expensive cities to buy a beer
The most expensive cities in the world to buy beer have been revealed and it brings bad news for Australian drinkers.
Sydney and Melbourne respectively ranked highest for purchasing a 500ml bottle of domestic beer, revealing surprising increases in prices of the drink.
A report by the Deutsche Bank Research Institute maps living costs and prices of various goods in 69 cities around the world and suggests that so-called sin taxes are becoming slightly more expensive.
Buying a beer in Sydney is now 60 per cent more expensive than buying a beer in New York, with the average price in 2025 surpassing US$7.25 (AUD) for a patron.
Meanwhile, the cost of a beer in Melbourne is 55 percent more than in New York, and the average price in 2025 is $7 (AUD).
According to the report, prices have increased by 36.5 percent in Sydney and 14.5 percent in Melbourne in the last five years.
Some of this increase will be due to the Australian dollar weakening against the US – a dollar was worth around 77 US cents when the report was compiled for 2020, and 64.7 US cents for 2025 prices, according to the report published in June.
How much does a beer cost around the world?
Below are the 10 most expensive cities to buy beer:
1. Sydney
2.Melbourne
3. Singapore
4.Wellington
5.Birmingham
6.Oslo
7.Kuala Lumpur
8. Switzerland
9. Geneva
10.Helsinki
London ranks 11th, falling behind the average price in 2025 by $4.91 (AUD).
In terms of imported beer, Dubai, New York, Oslo, Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles are the most expensive places to drink beer in a restaurant.
oasis index
Sydney and Melbourne also top the charts for the cost of five beers and two packs of cigarettes, called the Oasis index.
The index is a reference to the song Cigarettes & Alcohol from the band’s debut album Definitely Maybe, and shows Sydney beating the Victorian capital in the 2020 survey with prices of $89, or $136.
Wellington and Auckland were on the list, followed by London, Dublin, Birmingham and Edinburgh. New York and Oslo were in the top 10.
The report said: “Sydney now tops the list of the most expensive places to buy cigarettes and beer in the world, followed by Melbourne, Wellington, Auckland and London.
“Aside from the high price of Oasis reunion tour tickets, it’s going to be expensive if you want the full experience at concerts in these cities.
“These highest-priced countries impose high sin taxes to discourage consumption and increase public finances.
“If your lifestyle is more in line with the classic Oasis tune, you’ll be better off in China, Brazil or Egypt, where these vices are much cheaper.”
But Australian cities didn’t make the list of most expensive cups of coffee; Instead, the cities where a cup of coffee was most expensive were Zurich, Copenhagen, New York, San Francisco and Geneva.
