Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Caloocan

For one person, living is cheaper in Caloocan: $504 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $27,800 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Caloocan
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Caloocan Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Caloocan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$504

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Caloocan

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

A single person spends $2,821 per month in Melbourne vs $504 in Caloocan, rent included.

Melbourne $2,821
Caloocan $504

A couple spends around $4,235 per month in Melbourne vs $674 in Caloocan, rent included.

Melbourne $4,235
Caloocan $674

A family of three spends $5,650 per month in Melbourne vs $845 in Caloocan, rent included.

Melbourne $5,650
Caloocan $845

Melbourne costs about 460% more than Caloocan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Melbourne sits 109% above the global median, while Caloocan is 63% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$2.74 ₱173

536.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$16.50 ₱1,039

412.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.22 ₱140

461.26%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$0.91 ₱57.3

351.65%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.40 ₱25.00

665.00%

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

$1.01 ₱63.8

870.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.61 ₱101

432.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.62 ₱102

-8.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.11 ₱69.7

164.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.00 ₱63.0

166.00%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.81 ₱114

206.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$5.19 ₱327

102.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.44 ₱216

180.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$7.94 ₱500

91.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.21 ₱139

80.54%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$0.92 ₱57.7

228.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.38 ₱150

30.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.04 ₱65.5

363.46%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.12 ₱70.7

170.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.70 ₱107

43.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.65 ₱41.16

278.46%

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

$3.00 ₱189

1369.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$4.68 ₱295

171.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.91 ₱57.2

508.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.99 ₱126

162.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.22 ₱13.86

1600.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.82 ₱51.9

450.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.25 ₱15.82

444.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.90 ₱119

1502.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.09 ₱68.5

34.86%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.4K ₱1.3M

35.82%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.3K ₱1.2M

37.36%

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

$234 A$336

$53.2 ₱3,351

339.08%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$9.80 ₱617

185.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$23.23 ₱1,463

139.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$4.76 ₱300

937.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$5.04 ₱318

199.40%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$134 ₱8,411

1675.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$10.9K ₱688.2K

176.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$29.00 ₱1,826

175.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$19.90 ₱1,253

154.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$55.3 ₱3,479

118.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$47.92 ₱3,017

172.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$205 ₱12.9K

759.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$121 ₱7,620

1048.19%

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

$320 ₱20.1K

1270.03%

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 Caloocan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Caloocan

$121 24% 91.3% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Caloocan

$160 31.7% 58.4% $224

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Caloocan

$86 17.1% 72.8% $231

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Caloocan

$51 10.1% 83.9% $264

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Caloocan

$68 13.6% 60.2% $103

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Caloocan

$3 * 0.6% 98.2% $161

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Caloocan

$15 3% 81.3% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,759 in Melbourne versus $205 in Caloocan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1270% higher in Melbourne, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Melbourne versus $16.00 in Caloocan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $384 vs $160 – making Caloocan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Caloocan

🕒 Local time

05:55 5:55 AM

02:55 2:55 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,661,584

💱 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 = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Caloocan 6,350 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Caloocan

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 Caloocan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne costs about 460% more than Caloocan, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,231 per month in Melbourne and $756 in Caloocan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Caloocan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Melbourne and $16.00 in Caloocan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 141% more in Melbourne, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Caloocan, where all-in costs run around $504, than in Melbourne at $2,821. In Caloocan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Melbourne it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Caloocan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Caloocan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Melbourne makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.