Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Bulacan

For one person, living is cheaper in Bulacan: $638 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $30,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
Learn more

Sydney Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Bulacan
Learn more

Bulacan Living Index

Jump to prices

Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Bulacan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$638

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Bulacan

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $638 in Bulacan, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Bulacan $638

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $927 in Bulacan, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Bulacan $927

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $1,215 in Bulacan, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Bulacan $1,215

Sydney costs about 394% more than Bulacan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 133% above the global median, while Bulacan is 53% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$2.00 ₱126

778.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$15.88 ₱1,000

476.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$2.71 ₱171

341.33%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.79 ₱112

127.37%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.44 ₱27.72

547.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.26 ₱16.39

765.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$0.93 ₱58.4

717.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$1.60 ₱101

364.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.61 ₱102

3.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.16 ₱73.1

139.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.95 ₱60.1

154.74%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.79 ₱113

215.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$2.80 ₱176

318.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$3.45 ₱217

180.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$6.03 ₱380

177.78%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.06 ₱130

97.57%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.56 ₱98.2

108.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$1.99 ₱125

72.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.04 ₱65.4

311.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$1.61 ₱101

103.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.73 ₱109

32.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.62 ₱39.14

270.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.49 ₱31.07

146.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$3.04 ₱191

1337.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$3.53 ₱222

293.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.89 ₱56.3

338.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.56 ₱98.1

150.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.19 ₱11.81

1500.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$6.68 ₱421

2148.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$0.69 ₱43.19

389.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.15 ₱9.67

940.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$1.87 ₱118

2039.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.06 ₱66.7

32.08%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$21.7K ₱1.4M

34.36%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$16.4K ₱1.0M

83.90%

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

$223 A$320

$112 ₱7,031

99.34%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$17.26 ₱1,087

57.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$23.39 ₱1,472

138.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$37.17 ₱2,340

100.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$0.78 ₱49.15

2975.64%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$5.09 ₱320

244.99%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$96.7 ₱6,088

2171.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$941 ₱59.3K

2895.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$28.48 ₱1,793

175.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$19.39 ₱1,221

252.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$75.5 ₱4,756

47.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$55.5 ₱3,493

142.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$237 ₱14.9K

953.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$146 ₱9,223

1066.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$385 ₱24.2K

1184.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$215 ₱13.5K

1307.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$1,879 ₱118.3K

600.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$1,458 ₱91.8K

474.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$290 ₱18.2K

1320.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

6.75

-13.48%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bulacan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Bulacan

$146 23% 91.4% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Bulacan

$147 23% 61.3% $232

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Bulacan

$152 23.9% 50.2% $153

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Bulacan

$56 8.8% 81.2% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Bulacan

$81 12.6% 54.4% $96

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Bulacan

$8.9 1.4% 94.9% $165

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Bulacan

$47 7.4% 56.9% $62

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,500 in Sydney versus $237 in Bulacan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1321% higher in Sydney, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91.0 in Sydney versus $16.00 in Bulacan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $147 – making Bulacan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 Bulacan

🕒 Local time

08:28 8:28 AM

05:28 5:28 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

3,700,000

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sydney Bulacan 6,290 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Bulacan

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 Bulacan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney costs about 394% more than Bulacan, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,728 per month in Sydney and $958 in Bulacan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bulacan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,152 in Sydney and $638 in Bulacan. That's a gap of about 394%.

Public transport costs about 2149% less in Bulacan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Bulacan, where all-in costs run around $638, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Bulacan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Bulacan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Bulacan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sydney makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.