Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Taguig City

For one person, living is cheaper in Taguig City: $1,017 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $22,000 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Taguig City
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Taguig City Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Taguig City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$1,017

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Taguig City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $1,017 in Taguig City.

Melbourne $2,853
Taguig City $1,017

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,533 in Taguig City.

Melbourne $4,275
Taguig City $1,533

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $2,049 in Taguig City.

Melbourne $5,697
Taguig City $2,049

Living in Melbourne is roughly 181% more expensive than in Taguig City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Taguig City is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$3.90 ₱246

341.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$26.47 ₱1,666

213.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$3.09 ₱195

302.27%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$2.47 ₱156

63.97%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$0.74 ₱46.34

321.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.44 ₱27.39

459.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$1.20 ₱75.6

693.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$2.39 ₱151

241.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.92 ₱121

-18.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$1.44 ₱90.7

101.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$0.88 ₱55.4

202.27%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$1.77 ₱112

203.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$5.13 ₱323

107.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$4.59 ₱289

114.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$8.01 ₱504

91.76%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$2.29 ₱144

82.10%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$1.82 ₱115

73.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$2.74 ₱173

18.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$1.06 ₱67.0

349.06%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$1.66 ₱104

84.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$2.66 ₱168

-7.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$1.60 ₱101

53.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.55 ₱34.73

196.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$2.92 ₱184

1446.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$8.67 ₱546

46.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.28 ₱80.6

344.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$2.00 ₱126

161.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$0.20 ₱12.57

1835.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$0.78 ₱49.42

482.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$0.23 ₱14.45

517.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$1.92 ₱121

1493.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.25 ₱78.7

17.60%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

36.18%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

33.91%

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

$235 A$338

$110 ₱6,907

114.32%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$15.53 ₱978

76.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$23.08 ₱1,453

143.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$40.31 ₱2,538

24.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$6.58 ₱414

169.91%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$133 ₱8,378

1692.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$8,811 ₱554.7K

236.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$40.50 ₱2,550

95.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$27.26 ₱1,716

81.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$66.8 ₱4,207

77.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$58.4 ₱3,674

126.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$624 ₱39.3K

182.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$443 ₱27.9K

218.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$2,553 ₱160.8K

37.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$819 ₱51.6K

208.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$3,934 ₱247.7K

81.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,346 ₱84.7K

372.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

$467 ₱29.4K

811.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

6.83

-13.62%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Last update for Taguig City: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Taguig City

$443 43.6% 68.6% $968

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Taguig City

$196 19.3% 49.5% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Taguig City

$148 14.6% 53.5% $170

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Taguig City

$86 8.4% 72.3% $224

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Taguig City

$87 8.5% 49.1% $84

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Taguig City

$2.7 * 0.3% 98.4% $166

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Taguig City

$53 5.3% 37.6% $32

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 $1,763 in Melbourne and $624 in Taguig City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 811% 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: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $26.00 in Taguig City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $196 per month, with Taguig City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇵🇭 Taguig City

🕒 Local time

12:50 12:50 PM

09:50 9:50 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

47,397

💱 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 23, 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 23, 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 Taguig City 6,330 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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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 Taguig City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Taguig City differ by about 181% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $1,017 including rent). Taguig City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 811% 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: $1,763 in Melbourne versus $624 in Taguig City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 98% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,853 per month in Melbourne versus $1,017 in Taguig City – a 181% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,017 in Taguig City versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Taguig City but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Taguig City 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 Taguig City 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 Taguig City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 181% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.