Brisbane is 3.6°C (6.5°F) warmer by day, Brisbane has 1.5°C (2.7°F) warmer nights, Brisbane gets 216 mm (8.5 in) more rain a year.
Brisbane is at its warmest in January and coolest in July, while Sydney peaks in January and bottoms out in July. Month for month, Brisbane is the warmer of the two in 12 of 12 months.
Brisbane is the wetter of the two, collecting 1,179 mm (46.4 in) of rain a year against 963 mm (37.9 in) in Sydney. The most comfortable time to visit is April, May and October in Brisbane and March, April and December in Sydney.
| Brisbane | Metric | Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 24.7°C | 🌡️Average daytime high | 21.1°C |
| 17.6°C | 🌙Average nighttime low | 16.1°C |
| January | 🔥Hottest month | January |
| July | ❄️Coldest month | July |
| 🌧️ Rain | ||
| 1,179 mm | 🌧️Annual rainfall | 963 mm |
| February | ☔Wettest month | February |
| September | 🏜️Driest month | September |
| 💨 Climate | ||
| 72% | 💧Average humidity | 73% |
| 3.5 m/s | 💨Average wind speed | 3.2 m/s |
Overnight, Brisbane typically falls to around 17.6°C (63.7°F) while Sydney settles near 16.1°C (61°F).
Brisbane is hottest in January and coldest in July, whereas Sydney peaks in January and is coolest in July.
Brisbane sees the most rain in February and the least in September; Sydney is wettest in February and driest in September.
Sydney feels the more humid of the two, averaging 73% relative humidity against 72%.
For Sydney, the pick of the year is March, April and December.
Month by month, here is the coldest night, the average day and the hottest afternoon each city can expect. Switch Compare to read rainfall, humidity, wind or solar instead, and Period to move between the long-term 45-year average and any single year — the shading is a quick warm-to-cool guide.
| Month | Brisbane | Sydney | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 22.2 | 25.5🔥 | 28.8 | 20.2 | 22.8🔥 | 25.4 |
| February | 22.2 | 25.3 | 28.3 | 20.5 | 22.8 | 25.1 |
| March | 21.2 | 24.1 | 27.1 | 19.6 | 21.8 | 24 |
| April | 18.9 | 21.9 | 25 | 17.5 | 19.7 | 21.9 |
| May | 16 | 19.3 | 22.5 | 15 | 17.2 | 19.3 |
| June | 13.2 | 16.7 | 20.1 | 12.6 | 14.7 | 16.8 |
| July | 12.1 | 15.9❄️ | 19.7 | 11.4 | 13.8❄️ | 16.1 |
| August | 12.7 | 16.8 | 20.9 | 11.7 | 14.4 | 17.1 |
| September | 15 | 19.3 | 23.6 | 13.4 | 16.3 | 19.3 |
| October | 17.4 | 21.5 | 25.6 | 15.2 | 18.2 | 21.2 |
| November | 19.4 | 23.1 | 26.9 | 16.9 | 19.7 | 22.5 |
| December | 21.1 | 24.6 | 28.2 | 18.7 | 21.5 | 24.3 |
| Annual Avg | 17.6 | 21.2 | 24.7 | 16.1 | 18.6 | 21.1 |
Min / mean / max temperature (°C). 🔥 marks each city's hottest month, ❄️ its coldest; shading runs cool blue to warm red.
The same figures plotted out, so the shape of a typical year is easier to see than in a grid. Where the two lines run close together Brisbane and Sydney feel alike; where they separate, they are genuinely different places to be.
Hover or tap any point to read the exact figures. Brisbane Sydney
See how Brisbane and Sydney stack up against other cities. Swipe for more.
Choose which city to keep, then search for any other city in our database — we'll build the comparison for you.
Quick answers to the questions people ask most when comparing Brisbane and Sydney — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
Brisbane is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 24.7°C (76.5°F) against 21.1°C (70°F) in Sydney — roughly 3.6°C (6.5°F) warmer by day. Nights are milder in Brisbane, with average lows of 17.6°C (63.7°F) versus 16.1°C (61°F).
Brisbane is hottest in January, averaging highs of about 28.8°C (83.8°F), while Sydney peaks in January at around 25.4°C (77.7°F). That makes Brisbane the hotter of the two at the height of summer.
Sydney gets colder. In its coldest month (July) overnight lows average about 11.4°C (52.6°F), compared with 12.1°C (53.8°F) at the low point of the year in Brisbane.
Brisbane is the wetter city, collecting about 1,179 mm (46.4 in) of rain a year versus 963 mm (37.9 in) in Sydney. Brisbane is wettest in February and driest in September; Sydney is wettest in February and driest in September.
Humidity is similar in both, averaging around 72% in Brisbane and 73% in Sydney across the year.
The most comfortable months in Brisbane are April, May and October, when average temperatures are at their mildest.
Sydney is at its most pleasant around March, April and December, based on the mildest average temperatures of the year.
Brisbane is the warmer city in all 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in November, about 3.4°C (6.1°F), and narrowest in June, about 2°C (3.6°F).
Both have a similar seasonal range — around 9.6°C (17.3°F) between the coldest and hottest months — so neither climate is noticeably more extreme than the other.
It depends what matters most to you: choose Brisbane for warmer weather and pick Sydney if you prefer drier conditions. There is no single "better" climate — it comes down to whether you value warmth, dryness or comfort most.
Every figure on this page is calculated from NASA POWER satellite climate data spanning 1981–2025 (45 years). The averages describe the long-term climate of Brisbane and Sydney, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
