Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Davao

For one person, living is cheaper in Davao: $794 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,300 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Davao
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Davao Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Davao

🇵🇭 Philippines

$794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Davao

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $794 in Davao.

Sydney $3,152
Davao $794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,225 in Davao.

Sydney $4,710
Davao $1,225

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,656 in Davao.

Sydney $6,268
Davao $1,656

Living in Sydney is roughly 297% more expensive than in Davao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Davao is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$4.81 ₱303

265.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$26.69 ₱1,681

242.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$3.94 ₱248

203.55%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.71 ₱170

50.18%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$1.04 ₱65.3

174.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.68 ₱42.97

230.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.61 ₱102

372.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$2.34 ₱147

217.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$2.01 ₱126

-17.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.13 ₱71.0

146.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.93 ₱58.4

160.22%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.88 ₱119

200.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$6.52 ₱411

79.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$4.85 ₱306

99.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$9.18 ₱578

82.46%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.70 ₱170

50.74%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.10 ₱69.3

195.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.36 ₱148

45.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.15 ₱72.6

272.17%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$2.02 ₱127

62.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$3.53 ₱222

-34.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$1.21 ₱76.1

90.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.68 ₱42.61

77.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$2.42 ₱152

1706.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$7.77 ₱489

78.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$1.24 ₱78.2

214.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.68 ₱106

132.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.35 ₱21.73

768.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$13.58 ₱855

1006.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$0.81 ₱51.2

317.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.23 ₱14.41

578.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$1.95 ₱123

1951.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.28 ₱80.5

9.37%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$21.1K ₱1.3M

38.19%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

59.34%

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

$223 A$320

$106 ₱6,688

109.55%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$19.39 ₱1,221

40.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$31.90 ₱2,009

74.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$33.90 ₱2,135

120.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$3.61 ₱228

564.54%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$4.70 ₱296

273.62%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$107 ₱6,766

1943.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$7,555 ₱475.7K

273.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$61.2 ₱3,852

28.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$30.84 ₱1,942

121.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$71.5 ₱4,502

55.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$62.5 ₱3,935

115.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$280 ₱17.6K

792.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$172 ₱10.8K

894.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$629 ₱39.6K

685.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$320 ₱20.1K

845.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$1,640 ₱103.2K

703.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$1,429 ₱90.0K

485.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$214 ₱13.5K

1823.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

8.31

-29.72%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Davao: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Davao

$172 21.6% 89.9% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Davao

$200 25.2% 47% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Davao

$158 19.8% 48.5% $148

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Davao

$102 12.9% 65.7% $196

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Davao

$102 12.8% 42.4% $75

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Davao

$17 2.1% 90.3% $157

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Davao

$43 5.5% 60.5% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $280 in Davao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 1823% 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 $27.00 in Davao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $200 per month, with Davao cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 Davao

🕒 Local time

07:43 7:43 AM

04:43 4:43 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

1,632,991

💱 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 = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Davao 5,290 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
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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 Davao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Davao is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 297% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1823% 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 $280 in Davao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Davao – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $91.0 in Sydney. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,152 per month in Sydney versus $794 in Davao – a 297% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $794 in Davao versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Davao but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Davao the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Davao is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sydney, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sydney and Davao 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 Davao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 297% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.