Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Boracay

For one person, living is cheaper in Boracay: $772 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Boracay
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Boracay Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Boracay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$772

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Boracay

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sydney and in Boracay actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $772 in Boracay.

Sydney $3,152
Boracay $772

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,313 in Boracay.

Sydney $4,710
Boracay $1,313

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,854 in Boracay.

Sydney $6,268
Boracay $1,854

Living in Sydney is roughly 308% more expensive than in Boracay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Boracay is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$5.73 ₱361

206.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$19.15 ₱1,206

377.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$5.94 ₱374

101.35%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.37 ₱149

71.73%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.70 ₱43.78

307.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.23 ₱14.44

878.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.16 ₱73.0

555.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$1.92 ₱121

286.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$2.95 ₱186

-43.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$0.98 ₱61.9

183.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.89 ₱56.3

171.91%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.93 ₱122

192.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$5.13 ₱323

128.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$4.78 ₱301

102.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$7.28 ₱459

130.08%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.51 ₱158

62.15%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.59 ₱100

104.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.21 ₱139

55.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.08 ₱67.9

296.30%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$2.11 ₱133

55.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$2.02 ₱127

13.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.99 ₱62.5

132.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.57 ₱35.84

112.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$2.28 ₱144

1817.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$7.76 ₱489

78.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.96 ₱60.5

306.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.75 ₱110

123.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.24 ₱15.09

1166.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$11.23 ₱707

1237.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$0.66 ₱41.52

412.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.23 ₱14.18

578.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$1.94 ₱122

1962.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.11 ₱69.7

26.13%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$23.7K ₱1.5M

23.08%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$22.0K ₱1.4M

36.77%

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

$223 A$320

$111 ₱6,979

100.83%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$14.23 ₱896

90.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$33.84 ₱2,131

64.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$29.95 ₱1,886

149.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$5.12 ₱323

368.55%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$5.26 ₱331

233.84%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$136 ₱8,591

1509.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$8,041 ₱506.2K

250.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$36.09 ₱2,272

117.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$19.21 ₱1,209

256.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$75.8 ₱4,773

46.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$59.1 ₱3,723

127.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$268 ₱16.9K

833.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$174 ₱10.9K

882.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$523 ₱32.9K

845.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$614 ₱38.6K

392.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,441 ₱153.7K

439.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$979 ₱61.7K

754.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$229 ₱14.4K

1695.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

6.79

-13.99%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Boracay: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Boracay

$174 22.5% 89.8% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Boracay

$193 25% 49% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Boracay

$159 20.6% 48% $147

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Boracay

$105 13.7% 64.7% $193

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Boracay

$86 11.1% 51.5% $91

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Boracay

$14 1.8% 92% $160

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Boracay

$40 5.3% 63.1% $69

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $268 in Boracay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 1695% 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: $91.0 in Sydney vs $19.00 in Boracay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $193 per month, with Boracay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 Boracay

🕒 Local time

10:04 10:04 AM

07:04 7:04 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

12,296

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Sydney Boracay 5,960 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Sydney vs Boracay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Boracay differ by about 308% in total monthly costs ($3,152 vs $772 including rent). Boracay is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1695% higher in Sydney, 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: $2,500 in Sydney versus $268 in Boracay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 96% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Boracay – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $91.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $772 in Boracay versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Boracay but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Boracay 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, Sydney and Boracay 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 Boracay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 308% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.