Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and San Juan

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $749 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,900 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 San Juan
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San Juan Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$749

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $749 in San Juan.

Melbourne $2,821
San Juan $749

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,101 in San Juan.

Melbourne $4,235
San Juan $1,101

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,452 in San Juan.

Melbourne $5,650
San Juan $1,452

Living in Melbourne is roughly 276% more expensive than in San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, San Juan is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.05 ₱255

330.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$16.88 ₱1,063

400.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$2.82 ₱177

341.84%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.76 ₱174

48.91%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.66 ₱41.30

363.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.31 ₱19.48

712.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.07 ₱67.2

815.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.56 ₱98.5

449.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.69 ₱107

-12.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.12 ₱70.5

162.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.84 ₱52.7

216.67%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.82 ₱114

204.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$5.24 ₱330

100.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.46 ₱218

178.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$7.21 ₱454

111.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.32 ₱146

71.98%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.36 ₱85.9

122.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.33 ₱147

33.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.06 ₱66.8

354.72%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.69 ₱107

79.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.74 ₱109

40.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.67 ₱42.17

267.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.97 ₱61.3

68.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$2.71 ₱171

1526.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$7.79 ₱490

63.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$0.92 ₱58.0

502.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.84 ₱116

184.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.26 ₱16.26

1338.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$12.14 ₱764

1032.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.79 ₱49.71

470.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.23 ₱14.52

491.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.95 ₱123

1461.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.24 ₱77.8

18.55%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

38.27%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

39.62%

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

$234 A$336

$141 ₱8,877

65.74%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$14.25 ₱897

96.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$24.38 ₱1,535

128.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$30.07 ₱1,893

64.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$4.41 ₱278

387.07%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$5.07 ₱319

197.63%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$74.3 ₱4,677

3092.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$2,556 ₱160.9K

1081.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$29.32 ₱1,846

172.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$19.71 ₱1,241

157.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$72.1 ₱4,539

67.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$56.8 ₱3,573

129.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$303 ₱19.1K

479.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$173 ₱10.9K

701.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$515 ₱32.4K

578.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$302 ₱19.0K

726.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,681 ₱168.8K

158.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,115 ₱70.2K

478.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$243 ₱15.3K

1700.41%

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 San Juan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

San Juan

$173 23.1% 87.5% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

San Juan

$175 23.3% 54.5% $209

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

San Juan

$180 24% 43.4% $138

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

San Juan

$86 11.5% 72.6% $228

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

San Juan

$80 10.7% 53.4% $92

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

San Juan

$15 2% 90.8% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

San Juan

$40 5.4% 49.5% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $303 in San Juan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 1700% 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 Juan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $175 per month, with San Juan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 San Juan

🕒 Local time

07:06 7:06 AM

04:06 4:06 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

126,347

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melbourne San Juan 6,340 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
San Juan

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 Juan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and San Juan differ by about 276% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $749 including rent). San Juan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1700% 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 $303 in San Juan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $74.3 in San Juan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 120% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $749 in San Juan versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Juan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes San Juan 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 Juan 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 Juan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 276% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.