Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Calapan City

For one person, living is cheaper in Calapan City: $710 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,300 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Calapan City
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Calapan City Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Calapan City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$710

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Calapan City

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $710 in Calapan City, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Calapan City $710

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $1,088 in Calapan City, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Calapan City $1,088

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $1,467 in Calapan City, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Calapan City $1,467

Sydney costs about 344% more than Calapan City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 133% above the global median, while Calapan City is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$4.01 ₱252

338.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$16.85 ₱1,061

442.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$2.83 ₱178

322.61%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.25 ₱142

80.89%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.61 ₱38.53

367.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.30 ₱19.15

650.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.13 ₱71.0

572.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$1.90 ₱120

291.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.69 ₱107

-1.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.15 ₱72.5

141.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.97 ₱61.1

149.48%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.92 ₱121

193.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$4.78 ₱301

144.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$4.23 ₱267

128.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$7.03 ₱442

138.26%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.34 ₱147

73.93%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.60 ₱101

103.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.36 ₱149

45.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.14 ₱71.6

275.44%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$1.91 ₱120

71.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.95 ₱123

17.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.99 ₱62.3

132.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.55 ₱34.62

120.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$2.99 ₱188

1361.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$7.38 ₱464

88.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.95 ₱59.6

310.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.95 ₱123

100.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.24 ₱15.06

1166.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$11.13 ₱701

1249.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$0.79 ₱49.46

327.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.20 ₱12.48

680.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$1.94 ₱122

1962.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.05 ₱66.3

33.33%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$23.0K ₱1.4M

26.71%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$18.8K ₱1.2M

60.57%

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

$223 A$320

$121 ₱7,642

83.41%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$14.21 ₱895

91.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$24.23 ₱1,525

130.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$32.71 ₱2,059

128.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$5.12 ₱323

368.55%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$5.07 ₱319

246.35%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$125 ₱7,875

1655.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$7,935 ₱499.6K

255.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$32.35 ₱2,037

142.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$19.22 ₱1,210

256.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$69.8 ₱4,395

59.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$57.0 ₱3,589

135.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$232 ₱14.6K

979.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$156 ₱9,819

995.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$497 ₱31.3K

894.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$336 ₱21.1K

800.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,385 ₱150.2K

452.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$1,002 ₱63.1K

735.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$118 ₱7,460

3371.42%

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 Calapan City: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Calapan City

$156 22% 90.9% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Calapan City

$177 24.9% 53.3% $202

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Calapan City

$160 22.5% 47.7% $146

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Calapan City

$81 11.4% 73% $218

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Calapan City

$80 11.3% 54.6% $96

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Calapan City

$14 2% 92% $160

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Calapan City

$43 6% 61% $67

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,500 in Sydney versus $232 in Calapan City. 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 3371% 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 $17.00 in Calapan City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $177 – making Calapan City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 Calapan City

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

12:30 12:30 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

145,786

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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

Sydney Calapan City 6,140 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Calapan City

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 Calapan City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sydney is pricier by about 344%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,728 per month in Sydney and $1,065 in Calapan City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91.0 in Sydney and $17.00 in Calapan City. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,152 in Sydney and $710 in Calapan City. That's a gap of about 344%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Calapan City, where all-in costs run around $710, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Calapan City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Calapan City – 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 Calapan City. 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.