Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and San Fernando

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $703 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 San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

San Fernando

🇵🇭 Philippines

$703

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in San Fernando

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $703 in San Fernando.

Melbourne $2,821
San Fernando $703

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,059 in San Fernando.

Melbourne $4,235
San Fernando $1,059

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,415 in San Fernando.

Melbourne $5,650
San Fernando $1,415

Living in Melbourne is roughly 301% more expensive than in San Fernando, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.01 ₱252

334.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$16.71 ₱1,052

405.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.88 ₱181

332.64%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$1.77 ₱112

132.20%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.38 ₱23.97

705.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.31 ₱19.32

712.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$0.97 ₱61.2

910.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.25 ₱78.5

585.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.70 ₱107

-12.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.11 ₱70.1

164.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.99 ₱62.2

168.69%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.00 ₱126

177.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$4.95 ₱311

112.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.37 ₱212

186.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$7.79 ₱490

95.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.19 ₱138

82.19%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.26 ₱79.2

139.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.32 ₱146

33.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.07 ₱67.1

350.47%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.69 ₱106

79.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.57 ₱99.0

55.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.62 ₱39.14

296.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.53 ₱33.09

207.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.97 ₱187

1383.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.92 ₱561

42.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.97 ₱60.8

471.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.30 ₱81.7

302.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.26 ₱16.12

1338.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$11.02 ₱694

1147.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.67 ₱41.89

573.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.23 ₱14.36

491.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$0.94 ₱59.3

3139.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.01 ₱63.8

45.54%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.3K ₱1.3M

36.23%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

39.66%

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

$234 A$336

$141 ₱8,907

65.18%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$17.77 ₱1,119

57.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$23.40 ₱1,473

138.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$32.05 ₱2,018

54.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$4.68 ₱295

358.97%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$4.82 ₱303

213.07%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$80.0 ₱5,033

2865.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$1,118 ₱70.4K

2599.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$19.46 ₱1,225

310.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$16.21 ₱1,021

212.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$32.14 ₱2,023

275.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$48.08 ₱3,027

171.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$262 ₱16.5K

571.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$170 ₱10.7K

716.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$523 ₱32.9K

568.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$356 ₱22.4K

599.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,438 ₱153.5K

184.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$994 ₱62.6K

548.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$339 ₱21.3K

1193.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

-1.67%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for San Fernando: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

San Fernando

$170 24.2% 87.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

San Fernando

$170 24.3% 55.6% $213

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

San Fernando

$183 26% 42.4% $135

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

San Fernando

$72 10.3% 77.1% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

San Fernando

$52 7.4% 69.6% $120

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

San Fernando

$14 2% 91.5% $150

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

San Fernando

$42 5.9% 47.6% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $262 in San Fernando. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 1194% 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 $17.00 in San Fernando for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $170 per month, with San Fernando cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 San Fernando

🕒 Local time

22:29 10:29 PM

19:29 7:29 PM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

354,666

💱 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 San Fernando 6,400 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
San Fernando

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 San Fernando: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and San Fernando differ by about 301% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $703 including rent). San Fernando is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1194% 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 $262 in San Fernando. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $80.0 in San Fernando. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 125% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $703 in San Fernando versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Fernando but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes San Fernando 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 San Fernando 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 San Fernando gentler on the wallet – expenses run 301% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.