Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and San Pedro

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro: $724 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $25,200 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
35

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro
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San Pedro Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

San Pedro

🇵🇭 Philippines

$724

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $724 in San Pedro.

Melbourne $2,821
San Pedro $724

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,089 in San Pedro.

Melbourne $4,235
San Pedro $1,089

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,454 in San Pedro.

Melbourne $5,650
San Pedro $1,454

Living in Melbourne is roughly 289% more expensive than in San Pedro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.02 ₱253

333.58%

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

$2.85 ₱180

337.19%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$1.86 ₱117

120.97%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.60 ₱37.65

410.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.31 ₱19.31

712.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$0.99 ₱62.3

889.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$1.58 ₱99.2

442.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.62 ₱102

-8.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.11 ₱69.7

164.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.97 ₱61.0

174.23%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.03 ₱128

172.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$5.15 ₱325

104.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$3.34 ₱211

188.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$7.08 ₱446

114.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.23 ₱140

78.92%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.55 ₱97.7

94.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.35 ₱148

31.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$1.07 ₱67.2

350.47%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.75 ₱110

73.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.77 ₱111

37.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.62 ₱39.15

296.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.49 ₱31.02

232.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.01 ₱190

1364.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.89 ₱560

42.86%

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

$2.00 ₱126

161.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.25 ₱15.81

1396.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$10.12 ₱637

1258.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$0.79 ₱49.95

470.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.21 ₱13.18

547.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$1.87 ₱118

1528.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.22 ₱76.6

20.49%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

37.95%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

38.41%

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

$234 A$336

$121 ₱7,644

92.46%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$15.89 ₱1,000

75.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$23.65 ₱1,489

135.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$36.88 ₱2,322

33.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$4.10 ₱258

423.90%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$5.12 ₱322

194.73%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$135 ₱8,517

1652.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$9,087 ₱572.1K

232.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$29.09 ₱1,831

174.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$19.79 ₱1,246

156.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$72.1 ₱4,540

67.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$55.6 ₱3,502

134.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$262 ₱16.5K

572.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$177 ₱11.2K

683.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$542 ₱34.1K

544.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$342 ₱21.5K

629.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,313 ₱145.6K

199.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$855 ₱53.8K

653.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$129 ₱8,116

3300.11%

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 Pedro: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

San Pedro

$177 24.5% 87.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

San Pedro

$171 23.7% 55.4% $213

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

San Pedro

$161 22.2% 49.3% $156

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

San Pedro

$75 10.3% 76.2% $240

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

San Pedro

$79 11% 53.7% $92

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

San Pedro

$13 1.8% 92.1% $151

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

San Pedro

$47 6.5% 40.8% $32

Cost Breakdown

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

Melbourne pays 3300% 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 Pedro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $171 per month, with San Pedro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 San Pedro

🕒 Local time

08:35 8:35 AM

05:35 5:35 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

326,001

💱 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 = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Melbourne San Pedro 6,320 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
San Pedro

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 Pedro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and San Pedro differ by about 289% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $724 including rent). San Pedro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3300% 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 Pedro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $135 in San Pedro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 124% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $724 in San Pedro versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Pedro but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes San Pedro 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 Pedro 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 Pedro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 289% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.