Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Pasig

For one person, living is cheaper in Pasig: $733 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,100 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Pasig
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Pasig Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Pasig

🇵🇭 Philippines

$733

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Pasig

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $733 in Pasig.

Melbourne $2,821
Pasig $733

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,222 in Pasig.

Melbourne $4,235
Pasig $1,222

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,711 in Pasig.

Melbourne $5,650
Pasig $1,711

Living in Melbourne is roughly 285% more expensive than in Pasig, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Pasig is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.87 ₱243

350.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$26.47 ₱1,667

219.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.73 ₱172

356.41%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.30 ₱145

78.70%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.69 ₱43.67

343.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.31 ₱19.23

712.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.22 ₱77.0

703.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.43 ₱153

252.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.74 ₱109

-14.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.12 ₱70.4

162.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.98 ₱61.6

171.43%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.07 ₱130

167.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$5.72 ₱360

83.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.50 ₱221

175.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$7.98 ₱503

90.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.28 ₱206

21.65%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.61 ₱101

87.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.85 ₱179

8.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.73 ₱109

178.61%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.24 ₱141

35.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.58 ₱162

-5.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$2.19 ₱138

12.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.55 ₱34.39

196.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.00 ₱189

1369.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$9.30 ₱586

36.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.33 ₱83.6

316.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.07 ₱130

152.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.50 ₱31.40

648.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.73 ₱45.98

517.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.23 ₱14.53

491.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.93 ₱122

1477.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.20 ₱75.3

22.50%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.4K ₱1.3M

35.40%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

38.74%

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

$234 A$336

$124 ₱7,814

88.27%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$17.72 ₱1,116

57.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$24.48 ₱1,542

127.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$29.83 ₱1,878

65.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$6.28 ₱395

140.29%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$133 ₱8,366

1684.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$8,751 ₱551.0K

245.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$34.39 ₱2,165

132.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$27.36 ₱1,723

85.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$71.6 ₱4,509

68.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$56.7 ₱3,572

129.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$340 ₱21.4K

417.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$151 ₱9,518

819.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$522 ₱32.9K

569.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$479 ₱30.1K

420.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,260 ₱205.2K

112.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$2,559 ₱161.1K

151.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$520 ₱32.7K

743.21%

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 Pasig: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Pasig

$151 20.6% 89.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Pasig

$202 27.6% 47.4% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Pasig

$166 22.7% 47.6% $151

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Pasig

$82 11.2% 74% $233

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Pasig

$86 11.7% 50.2% $86

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Pasig

$3.9 * 0.5% 97.6% $160

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Pasig

$42 5.8% 46.8% $37

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 $340 in Pasig. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 743% 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 $26.00 in Pasig for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $202 per month, with Pasig cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Pasig

🕒 Local time

05:39 5:39 AM

02:39 2:39 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

803,159

💱 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 →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Melbourne Pasig 6,340 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Pasig

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 Pasig: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Pasig differ by about 285% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $733 including rent). Pasig is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 743% 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 $340 in Pasig. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 90% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $733 in Pasig – a 285% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $733 in Pasig versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pasig but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Pasig 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 Pasig 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 Pasig gentler on the wallet – expenses run 285% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.