Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between General Santos and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in General Santos: $628 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in General Santos
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General Santos Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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General Santos

🇵🇭 Philippines

$628

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in General Santos and in Melbourne

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in General Santos and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $628 in General Santos versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

General Santos $628
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,009 in General Santos versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

General Santos $1,009
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,391 in General Santos versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

General Santos $1,391
Melbourne $5,650

Living in General Santos costs roughly 78% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: General Santos is 53% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 ₱213

$17.43 A$25.08

-80.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.40 ₱1,725

$84.6 A$122

-67.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.72 ₱172

$12.46 A$17.92

-78.17%

Cappuccino

$2.56 ₱161

$4.11 A$5.91

-37.71%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 ₱17.41

$3.06 A$4.40

-90.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 ₱15.83

$2.52 A$3.62

-90.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 ₱99.3

$9.80 A$14.10

-83.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 ₱147

$8.57 A$12.33

-72.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.48 A$2.14

35.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 ₱68.2

$2.94 A$4.23

-63.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ₱54.7

$2.66 A$3.82

-67.29%

Eggs

$1.86 ₱117

$5.54 A$7.97

-66.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.38 ₱402

$10.51 A$15.13

-39.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.77 ₱300

$9.65 A$13.89

-50.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 ₱582

$15.22 A$21.91

-39.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.74 ₱172

$3.99 A$5.75

-31.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 ₱67.2

$3.02 A$4.34

-64.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 ₱154

$3.10 A$4.46

-20.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 ₱74.6

$4.82 A$6.93

-75.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 ₱125

$3.03 A$4.36

-34.65%

Onion (1kg)

$3.28 ₱207

$2.44 A$3.52

34.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ₱78.2

$2.46 A$3.54

-49.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.60

$1.63 A$2.34

-58.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.46 ₱155

$44.07 A$63.4

-94.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.76 ₱488

$12.70 A$18.28

-38.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 ₱78.5

$5.54 A$7.97

-77.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ₱106

$5.23 A$7.52

-67.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 ₱24.37

$3.74 A$5.38

-89.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.15 ₱513

$138 A$198

-94.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.78 ₱49.25

$4.51 A$6.50

-82.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.25 ₱15.79

$1.36 A$1.96

-81.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 ₱51.4

$30.45 A$43.81

-97.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ₱70.7

$1.47 A$2.12

-23.81%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$20.9K ₱1.3M

$29.0K A$41.7K

-28.04%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$26.5K A$38.1K

-27.78%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$234 A$336

-67.20%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$6.53 ₱411

$27.93 A$40.19

-76.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.67 ₱1,994

$55.7 A$80.2

-43.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$4.91 ₱309

$15.09 A$21.72

-67.46%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$109 ₱6,840

$2,371 A$3,412

-95.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,532 ₱474.2K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-75.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 ₱3,767

$80.0 A$115

-25.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.67 ₱1,931

$50.7 A$73.0

-39.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.3 ₱4,428

$121 A$174

-41.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.7 ₱3,823

$130 A$188

-53.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$174 ₱11.0K

$1,759 A$2,531

-90.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$112 ₱7,068

$1,390 A$2,000

-91.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$359 ₱22.6K

$3,494 A$5,027

-89.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$238 ₱15.0K

$2,493 A$3,588

-90.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.31

5.9

40.85%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for General Santos: October 11, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

General Santos

$199 31.7%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 92.9% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

General Santos

$115 18.3%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 176% $203

Accommodation & Living

General Santos

$112 17.9%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 1138% $1.3K

Clothing & Footwear

General Santos

$100 15.9%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 72.3% $72

Eating Out

General Santos

$81 12.8%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 290% $234

Getting Around

General Santos

$12 1.9%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 1295% $152

Sport & Entertainment

General Santos

$9.8 * 1.6%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 711% $70

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $174 in General Santos and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27.00 in General Santos vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $384 per month, with General Santos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 General Santos

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

06:46 6:46 AM

09:46 9:46 AM

3 h ahead of General Santos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

697,315

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

General Santos Melbourne 5,300 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

General Santos
Melbourne

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

General Santos vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

General Santos wins on cost – living expenses run 349% lower than in Melbourne. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making General Santos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $942 in General Santos and $4,231 in Melbourne to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $174 in General Santos versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in General Santos – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $628 per month in General Santos versus $2,821 in Melbourne – a 349% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in General Santos versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in General Santos but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes General Santos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, General Santos and Melbourne are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find General Santos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 349% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.