Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Calamba

For one person, living is cheaper in Calamba: $518 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $27,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Calamba
Learn more

Calamba Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Calamba

🇵🇭 Philippines

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Calamba

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 Calamba actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $518 in Calamba.

Melbourne $2,821
Calamba $518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $764 in Calamba.

Melbourne $4,235
Calamba $764

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,010 in Calamba.

Melbourne $5,650
Calamba $1,010

Living in Melbourne is roughly 444% more expensive than in Calamba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Calamba is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.92 ₱247

344.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$12.02 ₱757

603.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.82 ₱178

341.84%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$1.79 ₱113

129.61%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.56 ₱35.46

446.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.33 ₱21.07

663.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$0.94 ₱59.5

942.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.55 ₱97.7

452.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.60 ₱101

-7.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.11 ₱70.1

164.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.97 ₱61.0

174.23%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.00 ₱126

177.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$5.20 ₱328

102.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.40 ₱214

183.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$7.80 ₱491

95.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.31 ₱145

72.73%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.54 ₱96.9

96.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.40 ₱151

29.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.06 ₱67.0

354.72%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.73 ₱109

75.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.78 ₱112

37.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.61 ₱38.70

303.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.49 ₱31.11

232.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.92 ₱184

1409.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.87 ₱558

43.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.96 ₱60.4

477.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.10 ₱132

149.05%

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

$0.82 ₱52.0

450.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.25 ₱15.76

444.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.88 ₱119

1519.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$0.93 ₱58.8

58.06%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.1K ₱1.3M

37.23%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

39.25%

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

$234 A$336

$139 ₱8,763

67.97%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$17.36 ₱1,093

60.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$23.85 ₱1,502

133.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$5.04 ₱317

199.40%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$130 ₱8,197

1722.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$10.6K ₱669.3K

184.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$28.54 ₱1,798

180.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$19.73 ₱1,243

156.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$71.0 ₱4,471

69.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$55.3 ₱3,484

135.84%

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

$260 ₱16.4K

1586.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

6.75

-12.59%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Calamba: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Calamba

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Calamba

$175 33.7% 54.5% $209

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Calamba

$180 34.8% 43.2% $137

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Calamba

$73 14% 76.9% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Calamba

$79 15.2% 54.3% $93

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Calamba

$2.1 * 0.4% 98.7% $162

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Calamba

$10 * 1.9% 87.3% $70

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

Cost Breakdown

Melbourne pays 1587% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $12.00 in Calamba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $175 per month, with Calamba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Calamba

🕒 Local time

07:39 7:39 AM

04:39 4:39 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

539,671

💱 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 = 62.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.82 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melbourne Calamba 6,300 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Calamba

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 Calamba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calamba wins on cost – living expenses run 444% lower than in Melbourne. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Calamba the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1587% higher in Melbourne, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 120% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $518 in Calamba – a 444% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $518 in Calamba versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Calamba but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Calamba 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 Calamba 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 Calamba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 444% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.