Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and General Santos

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.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in General Santos
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General Santos Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

General Santos

🇵🇭 Philippines

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

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

Melbourne $2,821
General Santos $628

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

Melbourne $4,235
General Santos $1,009

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

Melbourne $5,650
General Santos $1,391

Living in Melbourne is roughly 349% more expensive than in General Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.38 ₱213

415.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$27.40 ₱1,725

208.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.72 ₱172

358.09%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.56 ₱161

60.55%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.28 ₱17.41

992.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.25 ₱15.83

908.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.58 ₱99.3

520.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.34 ₱147

266.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$2.00 ₱126

-26.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.08 ₱68.2

172.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.87 ₱54.7

205.75%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.86 ₱117

197.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$6.38 ₱402

64.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$4.77 ₱300

102.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$9.25 ₱582

64.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.74 ₱172

45.62%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.07 ₱67.2

182.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.45 ₱154

26.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.19 ₱74.6

305.04%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.98 ₱125

53.03%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$3.28 ₱207

-25.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.24 ₱78.2

98.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.68 ₱42.60

139.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.46 ₱155

1691.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$7.76 ₱488

63.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.25 ₱78.5

343.20%

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

$0.39 ₱24.37

858.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$8.15 ₱513

1587.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.78 ₱49.25

478.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.25 ₱15.79

444.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$0.82 ₱51.4

3613.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.12 ₱70.7

31.25%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$20.9K ₱1.3M

38.96%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

38.46%

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

$234 A$336

$76.6 ₱4,825

204.91%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$6.53 ₱411

327.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$31.67 ₱1,994

76.00%

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

$4.91 ₱309

207.33%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$109 ₱6,840

2082.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$7,532 ₱474.2K

300.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$59.8 ₱3,767

33.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$30.67 ₱1,931

65.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$70.3 ₱4,428

71.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$60.7 ₱3,823

114.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$174 ₱11.0K

908.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$112 ₱7,068

1137.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$359 ₱22.6K

873.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$238 ₱15.0K

946.51%

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 General Santos: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

General Santos

$112 17.9% 91.9% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

General Santos

$199 31.7% 48.2% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

General Santos

$115 18.3% 63.8% $203

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

General Santos

$81 12.8% 74.4% $234

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

General Santos

$100 15.9% 42% $72

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

General Santos

$12 1.9% 92.8% $152

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

General Santos

$9.8 * 1.6% 87.7% $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 $1,759 in Melbourne and $174 in General Santos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 General Santos

🕒 Local time

12:36 12:36 PM

09:36 9:36 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

697,315

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 General Santos 5,300 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
General Santos

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 General Santos: 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 $4,231 in Melbourne and $942 in General Santos 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: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $174 in General Santos. 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 $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $628 in General Santos – 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, Melbourne and General Santos 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.