Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Butuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Butuan: $578 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $26,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Butuan
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Butuan Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Butuan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$578

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Butuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $578 in Butuan.

Melbourne $2,821
Butuan $578

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $913 in Butuan.

Melbourne $4,235
Butuan $913

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,248 in Butuan.

Melbourne $5,650
Butuan $1,248

Living in Melbourne is roughly 388% more expensive than in Butuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Butuan is 57% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.67 ₱294

273.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$26.83 ₱1,689

215.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.41 ₱152

417.01%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.09 ₱131

96.65%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.33 ₱21.01

827.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.23 ₱14.47

995.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.57 ₱98.8

524.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.46 ₱155

248.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.95 ₱123

-24.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.09 ₱68.9

169.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.87 ₱55.0

205.75%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.86 ₱117

197.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$6.21 ₱391

69.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$4.84 ₱305

99.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$9.32 ₱587

63.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.68 ₱169

48.88%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.11 ₱69.7

172.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.42 ₱152

28.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.20 ₱75.8

301.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.02 ₱127

50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$3.51 ₱221

-30.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.25 ₱79.0

96.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.67 ₱42.40

143.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.39 ₱150

1743.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.13 ₱512

56.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.25 ₱78.7

343.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.69 ₱106

209.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.78 ₱49.31

478.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.25 ₱15.83

444.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.96 ₱123

1453.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.05 ₱66.1

40.00%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

36.59%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

39.12%

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

$234 A$336

$107 ₱6,745

118.13%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$18.89 ₱1,189

47.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$30.87 ₱1,944

80.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$23.85 ₱1,502

107.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$4.37 ₱275

245.31%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$108 ₱6,790

2098.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$7,696 ₱484.6K

292.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$61.7 ₱3,885

29.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$31.28 ₱1,970

62.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$71.8 ₱4,523

67.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$62.2 ₱3,916

109.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

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 %)

5.9

8.31

-29.00%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Butuan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Butuan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Butuan

$200 34.6% 47.9% $184

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Butuan

$157 27.1% 50.6% $160

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Butuan

$85 14.6% 73.1% $230

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Butuan

$102 17.7% 40.5% $70

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Butuan

$2 * 0.4% 98.8% $162

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Butuan

$33 5.6% 59.1% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $27.00 in Butuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $200 per month, with Butuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Butuan

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

05:26 5:26 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

337,063

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

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).

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).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Butuan 5,580 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Butuan

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

Melbourne vs Butuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Butuan wins on cost – living expenses run 388% lower than in Melbourne. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Butuan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $4,231 in Melbourne and $867 in Butuan 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.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $108 in Butuan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Butuan – 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.

At $578 in Butuan versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Butuan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Butuan 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, Melbourne and Butuan 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 Butuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 388% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.