Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Malaybalay

For one person, living is cheaper in Malaybalay: $756 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Malaybalay
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Malaybalay Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Malaybalay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$756

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Malaybalay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $756 in Malaybalay.

Melbourne $2,821
Malaybalay $756

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,182 in Malaybalay.

Melbourne $4,235
Malaybalay $1,182

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,607 in Malaybalay.

Melbourne $5,650
Malaybalay $1,607

Living in Melbourne is roughly 273% more expensive than in Malaybalay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Malaybalay is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.89 ₱308

256.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$16.45 ₱1,035

413.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$3.51 ₱221

254.99%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.18 ₱137

88.53%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.49 ₱31.14

524.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.33 ₱20.93

663.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.13 ₱71.2

767.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.92 ₱121

346.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$2.02 ₱127

-26.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.13 ₱71.2

160.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.88 ₱55.2

202.27%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.87 ₱118

196.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$6.41 ₱404

63.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$4.87 ₱307

98.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$9.06 ₱570

67.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.77 ₱175

44.04%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.07 ₱67.2

182.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.39 ₱150

29.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.14 ₱71.8

322.81%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.96 ₱123

54.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$3.39 ₱213

-28.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.20 ₱75.3

105.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.66 ₱41.82

146.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.47 ₱156

1684.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$7.77 ₱489

63.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.27 ₱80.1

336.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.62 ₱102

222.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.22 ₱13.60

1600.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$10.70 ₱674

1185.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.84 ₱52.9

436.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.23 ₱14.40

491.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.90 ₱119

1502.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.27 ₱80.2

15.75%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.6K ₱1.4M

34.36%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

39.50%

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

$234 A$336

$109 ₱6,856

114.58%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$19.33 ₱1,217

44.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$31.17 ₱1,962

78.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$30.01 ₱1,890

64.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$4.18 ₱263

413.88%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$4.86 ₱306

210.49%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$106 ₱6,689

2131.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$7,589 ₱477.8K

297.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$33.02 ₱2,079

142.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$19.31 ₱1,216

162.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$70.7 ₱4,451

70.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$60.7 ₱3,821

114.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$279 ₱17.5K

531.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$173 ₱10.9K

704.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$441 ₱27.8K

692.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$403 ₱25.4K

517.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,200 ₱138.5K

214.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,006 ₱63.4K

540.44%

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 Malaybalay: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Malaybalay

$173 22.8% 87.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Malaybalay

$199 26.4% 48.1% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Malaybalay

$159 21.1% 49.8% $158

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Malaybalay

$89 11.7% 71.8% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Malaybalay

$83 10.9% 51.9% $89

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Malaybalay

$14 1.8% 91.7% $150

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Malaybalay

$40 5.3% 50.1% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $279 in Malaybalay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $16.00 in Malaybalay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $199 per month, with Malaybalay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Malaybalay

🕒 Local time

06:12 6:12 AM

03:12 3:12 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

190,712

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Malaybalay 5,510 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Malaybalay

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 Malaybalay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Malaybalay differ by about 273% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $756 including rent). Malaybalay is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,231 in Melbourne and $1,134 in Malaybalay 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 $279 in Malaybalay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 93% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Malaybalay – a meal for two runs $16.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $756 in Malaybalay versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Malaybalay but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Malaybalay 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 Malaybalay 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 Malaybalay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 273% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.