Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Olongapo

For one person, living is cheaper in Olongapo: $706 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,400 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Olongapo
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Olongapo Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Olongapo

🇵🇭 Philippines

$706

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Olongapo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $706 in Olongapo.

Melbourne $2,821
Olongapo $706

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,067 in Olongapo.

Melbourne $4,235
Olongapo $1,067

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,429 in Olongapo.

Melbourne $5,650
Olongapo $1,429

Living in Melbourne is roughly 300% more expensive than in Olongapo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Olongapo is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.94 ₱248

342.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$16.49 ₱1,038

412.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.77 ₱174

349.82%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$1.77 ₱111

132.20%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.61 ₱38.13

401.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.31 ₱19.29

712.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$0.98 ₱61.7

900.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.39 ₱87.4

516.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.60 ₱101

-7.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$0.41 ₱26.00

617.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.82 ₱51.9

224.39%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.89 ₱119

193.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$5.18 ₱326

102.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$2.48 ₱156

289.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$8.04 ₱506

89.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.22 ₱140

79.73%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$0.91 ₱57.5

231.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.34 ₱147

32.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.02 ₱64.4

372.55%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.68 ₱106

80.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.70 ₱107

43.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.62 ₱38.96

296.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.42 ₱26.25

288.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.01 ₱189

1364.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.97 ₱565

41.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.91 ₱57.5

508.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.06 ₱130

153.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.27 ₱16.99

1285.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$12.17 ₱766

1029.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.78 ₱48.96

478.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.25 ₱15.85

444.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.97 ₱124

1445.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.12 ₱70.6

31.25%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

38.28%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

36.50%

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

$234 A$336

$127 ₱8,003

83.84%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$17.27 ₱1,087

61.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$23.49 ₱1,479

137.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$32.45 ₱2,043

52.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$4.67 ₱294

359.96%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$4.35 ₱274

246.90%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$79.1 ₱4,977

2899.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$10.7K ₱670.6K

183.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$29.28 ₱1,844

173.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$19.67 ₱1,238

157.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$71.9 ₱4,529

67.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$56.7 ₱3,569

130.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$266 ₱16.8K

560.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$173 ₱10.9K

705.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$258 ₱16.2K

1253.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$355 ₱22.3K

603.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,473 ₱155.7K

180.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,008 ₱63.5K

539.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$133 ₱8,371

3196.28%

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 Olongapo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Olongapo

$173 24.5% 87.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Olongapo

$157 22.2% 59.2% $227

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Olongapo

$168 23.8% 47.1% $149

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Olongapo

$72 10.3% 77% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Olongapo

$80 11.3% 53.5% $92

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Olongapo

$15 2.2% 90.7% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Olongapo

$41 5.8% 48.3% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $266 in Olongapo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 3196% 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 $16.00 in Olongapo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $157 per month, with Olongapo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Olongapo

🕒 Local time

02:54 2:54 AM

23:54 11:54 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

233,040

💱 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 Olongapo 6,400 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Olongapo

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 Olongapo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Olongapo differ by about 300% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $706 including rent). Olongapo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3196% 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 $266 in Olongapo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $79.1 in Olongapo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 145% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $706 in Olongapo versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Olongapo but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Olongapo 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 Olongapo 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 Olongapo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 300% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.