Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Makati

For one person, living is cheaper in Makati: $1,257 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $23,100 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Makati
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Makati Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Makati

🇵🇭 Philippines

$1,257

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Makati

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $1,257 in Makati.

Sydney $3,182
Makati $1,257

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $2,052 in Makati.

Sydney $4,696
Makati $2,052

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $2,847 in Makati.

Sydney $6,210
Makati $2,847

Living in Sydney is roughly 153% more expensive than in Makati, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 137% above, Makati is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$6.56 ₱411

169.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$40.13 ₱2,517

141.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$4.75 ₱298

151.37%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$2.65 ₱166

50.94%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$1.08 ₱67.6

162.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.50 ₱31.47

354.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$2.44 ₱153

223.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$3.10 ₱195

130.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.83 ₱115

-9.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$1.24 ₱77.7

125.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$1.01 ₱63.5

129.70%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$2.37 ₱148

133.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$7.35 ₱461

64.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$4.91 ₱308

100.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$6.81 ₱427

143.91%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$4.09 ₱257

-1.71%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$2.00 ₱125

57.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$3.27 ₱205

7.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$2.29 ₱144

95.20%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$3.59 ₱225

-7.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$3.45 ₱216

-33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$1.07 ₱67.0

118.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$1.11 ₱69.7

3.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$2.66 ₱167

1592.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$8.01 ₱502

74.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.35 ₱84.5

194.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$1.98 ₱124

105.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

$0.99 ₱61.9

219.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$57.4 ₱3,599

161.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$0.66 ₱41.39

422.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.23 ₱14.46

608.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$1.88 ₱118

2026.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.26 ₱79.0

11.11%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

$21.5K ₱1.3M

32.37%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$19.8K ₱1.2M

48.47%

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

$220 A$315

$155 ₱9,726

41.80%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$15.90 ₱997

74.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$32.67 ₱2,049

69.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

$55.4 ₱3,473

34.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

$14.51 ₱910

65.06%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$6.98 ₱438

154.01%

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$783 ₱49.1K

175.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$7,340 ₱460.4K

285.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$59.6 ₱3,738

31.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$37.48 ₱2,351

88.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$82.5 ₱5,171

35.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$102 ₱6,383

29.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

$828 ₱51.9K

203.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

$416 ₱26.1K

316.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

$2,318 ₱145.4K

110.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

$1,067 ₱66.9K

184.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$6,082 ₱381.5K

117.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

$3,765 ₱236.1K

115.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

$616 ₱38.6K

563.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

7.5

-22.13%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Makati: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Makati

$416 33.8% 76% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Makati

$230 18.7% 39.5% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Makati

$204 16.5% 32.8% $99

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Makati

$123 10% 58.8% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Makati

$127 10.3% 28.2% $50

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Makati

$63 5.1% 63.7% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Makati

$69 5.6% 36.8% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,514 in Sydney and $828 in Makati. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 563% 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: $97.0 in Sydney vs $40.00 in Makati for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $230 per month, with Makati cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 Makati

🕒 Local time

20:05 8:05 PM

17:05 5:05 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

582,602

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Makati 6,260 km ≈ 8 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 Makati: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Makati wins on cost – living expenses run 153% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Makati the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 563% 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: $2,514 in Sydney versus $828 in Makati. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,182 per month in Sydney versus $1,257 in Makati – a 153% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Makati runs roughly 161% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,257 in Makati versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Makati but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Makati the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Makati delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,257 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Makati hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sydney and Makati 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 Makati gentler on the wallet – expenses run 153% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.