Australia already has the world’s most expensive beer – are $10 coffees are next? - Drinks News

Feb 20, 2026

We’re a nation built on brews, but the bill is becoming a bit much to swallow.

Australia is a beer-loving nation that’s also known for its sophisticated coffee culture. But with prices continuing to rise and wages at a standstill, is that schooner or flat white worth the cost?

A Melbourne cafe made headlines in recent days for the price it was charging for a single coffee. A customer went on Reddit to share a snap of a menu placard from The Healthlink Crew, which operates cafes in health and recreation centres. It featured an iced coffee or iced chocolate selling for $10.80. And this was with regular milk. If you wanted alternative milk, such as oat or almond, it would cost you an extra $2.

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Not surprisingly, the subreddit went bonkers (even if some members did get sidetracked into talking about their cats), and the story got picked up by news outlets. But it is just one story among countless others, with many frustrated coffee lovers being forced to cut back on their coffee purchases or – horror of horrors – resort to the office instant coffee to get through the day. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that it’s not pretty, either way.

Draught beer — Ten years ago, a schooner of draught beer cost around $6-8.

Australian beer: the most expensive in the world

Meanwhile, a 2025 report by Deutsche Bank Research Institute mapped the cost of living and various goods and services across 69 different countries. It found that Sydney now tops the list of the most expensive places in the world to buy a bottle of domestic beer, followed by Melbourne. (Sydney and Melbourne also topped the report’s ‘Oasis’ index – the most expensive places in the world to buy five beers and 2 packs of ciggies.)

A regular draught beer will now set you back anywhere from around $8-14 in Sydney. Sometimes less, but sometimes more, depending on where you’re ordering it. In the last three years, the average price of draught beer in Australia has gone up by more than 30 percent, despite a two-year freeze on the beer excise. This has outpaced inflation, and outpriced many a thirsty punter.

How much would you pay?

According to the 2026 Eat Pay Love report, undertaken by EFTPOS provider Tyro, the average maximum price Australians say they’re willing to pay for a coffee is $6.60, while the average maximum price they say they’re willing to pay for a beer is $9.80. For many city dwellers, that limit has already been reached, or surpassed.

One in three (32%) people surveyed for the report also said they’re now less likely to buy a round of drinks than they were a year ago, while more than half (51%) said their drinking habits have changed due to cost pressures. One in eight (13%) said they’ve cut down or stopped drinking alcohol altogether when going out.

Whether it’s the morning caffeine hit or a Friday afternoon schooey, these rituals are the glue of Australian social life. But as we sail past the $10 beer and the $7 latte, those simple pleasures are starting to feel like unattainable luxuries. If this current trajectory of rising prices and stagnating wages continues, we may all just have to stick with a glass of water, thanks.