It may seem obvious that living in a sharehouse is cheaper than renting your own one-bedroom apartment but what if you could put more than $1000 a month towards saving that deposit for your own home by putting up with roommates a little longer?

Well, you can.

Data from realestate.com.au and flatmates.com.au has revealed that renters could save almost $16,000 per year by ditching the one-bedder and getting a flatmate.

The comparison looked at the cost of renting a one-bedder in 15 inner-city and surrounding suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne versus the average cost to rent a private room in a shared home in those areas. And the savings ranged from more than $5000 a year up to almost $16,000.

Renters who can reap the biggest savings are those in Haymarket in Sydney’s CBD, where the average one-bedroom apartment would set you back $655 and the average private room would set you back $350. Over the course of a year, that could translate to savings of $15,860. Not bad for starting a little nest egg.

Is your privacy worth almost $16,000?  Image: flatmates.com.au Source:Supplied

In Melbourne, renters in Glenn Waverley, a suburb about 19km southeast of Melbourne’s city centre, can save the most by sharing costs with a roommate. A one-bedder in the area costs about $380 per week in rent versus $185 for a private room. That’s an annual saving of $10,140.

St Kilda Road (3004) saw the next biggest potential saving with $8892 less per annum by swapping one-bed place for a flatmate.

South Yarra was last on the list for the Victorian capital, but renters can still save an average of $5876 a year by living in a sharehouse.

Roommates can be annoying, but so can saving for a deposit.  Image: flatmates.com.au Source:Supplied

For Sydneysiders wanting to live close to the beach, renters in Bondi Junction can expect yearly savings of $13,624 with a private room costing about $338 per week versus $600 for a one-bedroom unit.

Or those in Manly can put an extra $10,972 a year towards their deposit savings by renting a room for $369 per week over a $580 per week apartment.

Renters in the inner west can also expect significant savings with Erskineville dwellers able to put an extra $12,948 a year, on average, straight into their savings accounts by opting for sharehouse living.

But flatmates.com.au chief executive officer, Thomas Clement said savings could get even higher if you factor in further savings on bills or even food.

“If you’re struggling to afford a house deposit, want to take an overseas holiday or trying to get on top of your credit card bills, sharing a place could well be the answer,” he said.