Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Davao

For one person, living is cheaper in Davao: $794 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,300 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Davao
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Davao Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Davao

🇵🇭 Philippines

$794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Davao

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $794 in Davao.

Melbourne $2,821
Davao $794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,225 in Davao.

Melbourne $4,235
Davao $1,225

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,656 in Davao.

Melbourne $5,650
Davao $1,656

Living in Melbourne is roughly 255% more expensive than in Davao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Davao is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.81 ₱303

262.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$26.69 ₱1,681

216.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$3.94 ₱248

216.24%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.71 ₱171

51.66%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.04 ₱65.3

194.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.68 ₱42.99

270.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.61 ₱102

508.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.34 ₱147

266.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$2.01 ₱126

-26.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.13 ₱71.0

160.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.93 ₱58.5

186.02%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.88 ₱119

194.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$6.52 ₱411

61.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$4.85 ₱306

98.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$9.18 ₱578

65.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.70 ₱170

47.78%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.10 ₱69.3

174.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.36 ₱149

31.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.15 ₱72.6

319.13%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.02 ₱127

50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$3.53 ₱222

-30.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.21 ₱76.2

103.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.68 ₱42.63

139.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.42 ₱152

1721.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$7.77 ₱489

63.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.24 ₱78.2

346.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.68 ₱106

211.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.35 ₱21.74

968.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$13.58 ₱856

912.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.81 ₱51.3

456.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.23 ₱14.41

491.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.95 ₱123

1461.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.28 ₱80.5

14.84%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.1K ₱1.3M

37.62%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

40.01%

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

$234 A$336

$106 ₱6,691

119.98%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$19.39 ₱1,221

44.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$31.90 ₱2,010

74.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$33.90 ₱2,136

45.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$3.61 ₱228

495.01%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$4.70 ₱296

221.06%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$107 ₱6,769

2106.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$7,555 ₱475.9K

299.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$61.2 ₱3,854

30.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$30.84 ₱1,943

64.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$71.5 ₱4,504

68.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$62.5 ₱3,937

108.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$280 ₱17.6K

527.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$172 ₱10.8K

708.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$629 ₱39.6K

455.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$320 ₱20.1K

679.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$1,640 ₱103.3K

322.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,429 ₱90.0K

350.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$214 ₱13.5K

1948.97%

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 Davao: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Davao

$172 21.6% 87.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Davao

$200 25.2% 47.8% $184

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Davao

$158 19.8% 50.4% $160

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Davao

$102 12.9% 67.4% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Davao

$102 12.8% 40.8% $70

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Davao

$17 2.1% 89.7% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Davao

$43 5.5% 45.6% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $280 in Davao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 1949% 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 $27.00 in Davao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $200 per month, with Davao cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Davao

🕒 Local time

00:56 12:56 AM

21:56 9:56 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,632,991

💱 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

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Between locations

Melbourne Davao 5,380 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Davao

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 Davao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Davao is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 255% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1949% higher in Melbourne, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $280 in Davao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Davao – 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 $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $794 in Davao – a 255% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $794 in Davao versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Davao but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Davao the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Davao is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Melbourne, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Melbourne and Davao 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 Davao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 255% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.