Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and the Philippines

For one person, living is cheaper in the Philippines: $754 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Melbourne
🇦🇺 Australia
$2,852
/mo nomad
🇵🇭 Philippines
$754
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Melbourne is 161.1% more expensive than the Philippines without rent, and 278.3% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Melbourne is 161.6% more expensive than the Philippines without rent, and 264.2% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.75 A$25.40
$4.08 ₱256
335.05%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$84.8 A$121
$21.43 ₱1,344
295.85%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$12.16 A$17.40
$3.18 ₱199
282.39%
Cappuccino
$3.93 A$5.62
$2.22 ₱139
77.03%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.14 A$4.49
$0.70 ₱43.83
348.57%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.43 A$3.47
$0.37 ₱22.97
556.76%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$9.90 A$14.17
$1.29 ₱81.2
667.44%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$8.29 A$11.86
$2.00 ₱126
314.50%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.55 A$2.21
$1.69 ₱106
-8.28%
White Bread (500g)
$3.01 A$4.31
$1.18 ₱74.1
155.08%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.88 A$4.12
$0.87 ₱54.3
231.03%
Eggs
$5.44 A$7.79
$1.96 ₱123
177.55%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.59 A$15.16
$6.95 ₱436
52.37%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.61 A$13.76
$4.29 ₱269
124.01%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.99 A$21.46
$7.07 ₱444
112.02%
Apples (1kg)
$4.15 A$5.94
$2.90 ₱182
43.10%
Banana (1kg)
$3.05 A$4.37
$1.44 ₱90.2
111.81%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.30 A$4.72
$2.52 ₱158
30.95%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.76 A$6.81
$1.50 ₱94.4
217.33%
Potato (1kg)
$3.04 A$4.34
$2.19 ₱137
38.81%
Onion (1kg)
$2.55 A$3.65
$2.56 ₱161
-0.39%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.48 A$3.55
$1.33 ₱83.2
86.47%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.63 A$2.33
$0.65 ₱40.91
150.77%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$44.07 A$63.1
$2.83 ₱177
1457.24%
Wine (Bottle)
$12.43 A$17.79
$6.20 ₱389
100.48%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$5.33 A$7.63
$1.17 ₱73.5
355.56%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.16 A$7.38
$1.73 ₱108
198.27%
🚌 Getting Around
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.84 A$5.50
$0.28 ₱17.68
1271.43%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$142 A$203
$12.71 ₱797
1013.30%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.40 A$6.29
$0.78 ₱48.96
464.10%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.40 A$2.01
$0.23 ₱14.43
508.70%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$29.83 A$42.69
$1.88 ₱118
1486.70%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.46 A$2.09
$1.16 ₱72.6
25.86%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.1K A$40.3K
$21.2K ₱1.3M
32.70%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.9K A$37.1K
$19.5K ₱1.2M
33.17%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$233 A$333
$103 ₱6,459
125.92%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$27.28 A$39.04
$14.13 ₱886
93.06%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$57.0 A$81.6
$27.09 ₱1,699
110.56%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52.7 A$75.4
$31.47 ₱1,974
67.40%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$22.62 A$32.37
$5.95 ₱373
280.17%
Cinema Ticket
$17.10 A$24.48
$5.46 ₱342
213.19%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,373 A$3,397
$142 ₱8,889
1574.62%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$30.5K A$43.6K
$5,663 ₱355.2K
437.93%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$78.2 A$112
$43.92 ₱2,755
78.07%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$50.5 A$72.2
$24.08 ₱1,510
109.59%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$121 A$172
$67.1 ₱4,210
79.53%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$133 A$191
$60.4 ₱3,789
120.49%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,713 A$2,451
$322 ₱20.2K
431.61%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,402 A$2,006
$184 ₱11.5K
662.30%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$3,339 A$4,778
$652 ₱40.9K
412.37%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,529 A$3,619
$355 ₱22.2K
613.00%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,018 A$10.0K
$2,998 ₱188.0K
134.11%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,767 A$9,685
$1,394 ₱87.4K
385.55%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Melbourne
Philippines
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$4,228 A$6,051
$313 ₱19.6K
1250.81%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.9
7.2
-18.06%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for the Philippines: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Melbourne
$1.4K
Philippines
$184 86.9% $1.2K
Groceries & Markets
Melbourne
$385
Philippines
$191 50.5% $194
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Melbourne
$317
Philippines
$144 54.5% $173
Eating Out
Melbourne
$314
Philippines
$84 73.4% $230
Clothing & Footwear
Melbourne
$172
Philippines
$88 48.9% $84
Getting Around
Melbourne
$168
Philippines
$16 90.6% $153
Sport & Entertainment
Melbourne
$87
Philippines
$42 51.2% $45
Good to know
🇦🇺 Melbourne
🇵🇭 Philippines
🕒 Local time
17:00 5:00 PM
14:00 2:00 PM
3 h behind Melbourne
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
5,031,195
109,035,343
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Melbourne Philippines 6,340 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Melbourne
  • Philippines

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.
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