Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Marawi

For one person, living is cheaper in Marawi: $727 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,100 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Marawi
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Marawi Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Marawi

🇵🇭 Philippines

$727

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Marawi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $727 in Marawi.

Sydney $3,152
Marawi $727

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,104 in Marawi.

Sydney $4,710
Marawi $1,104

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,481 in Marawi.

Sydney $6,268
Marawi $1,481

Living in Sydney is roughly 334% more expensive than in Marawi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Marawi is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$3.97 ₱250

342.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$16.84 ₱1,060

443.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$2.72 ₱171

339.71%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.20 ₱139

85.00%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.61 ₱38.65

367.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.33 ₱21.03

581.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.07 ₱67.2

610.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$2.11 ₱133

252.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.60 ₱101

3.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.10 ₱69.1

152.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.97 ₱60.8

149.48%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.97 ₱124

186.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$5.45 ₱343

114.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$4.19 ₱264

130.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$6.88 ₱433

143.46%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.46 ₱155

65.45%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.61 ₱102

101.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.41 ₱152

42.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.13 ₱71.2

278.76%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$1.93 ₱121

69.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$2.03 ₱128

13.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.92 ₱57.9

150.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.58 ₱36.33

108.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$2.60 ₱164

1581.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$7.71 ₱485

80.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$1.04 ₱65.7

275.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.97 ₱124

98.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.22 ₱13.77

1281.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$12.71 ₱800

1081.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$0.74 ₱46.65

356.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.24 ₱15.03

550.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$2.15 ₱136

1760.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.19 ₱74.8

17.65%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$20.6K ₱1.3M

41.70%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

58.66%

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

$223 A$320

$119 ₱7,466

87.72%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$17.08 ₱1,075

59.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$24.37 ₱1,534

129.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$30.56 ₱1,924

144.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$4.56 ₱287

426.10%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$4.55 ₱286

285.93%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$132 ₱8,339

1558.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$7,903 ₱497.6K

256.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$32.59 ₱2,052

140.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$19.71 ₱1,241

247.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$70.5 ₱4,436

57.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$54.8 ₱3,452

145.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$272 ₱17.1K

820.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$173 ₱10.9K

888.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$514 ₱32.3K

862.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$348 ₱21.9K

767.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,286 ₱144.0K

475.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$989 ₱62.2K

746.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$289 ₱18.2K

1323.14%

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 Marawi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Marawi

$173 23.8% 89.9% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Marawi

$179 24.6% 52.7% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Marawi

$160 22% 47.6% $146

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Marawi

$80 11% 73.3% $219

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Marawi

$80 11% 54.8% $97

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Marawi

$16 2.1% 91.1% $158

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Marawi

$40 5.5% 63.9% $70

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $272 in Marawi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 1323% 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 $17.00 in Marawi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $179 per month, with Marawi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 Marawi

🕒 Local time

10:13 10:13 AM

07:13 7:13 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

207,010

💱 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

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Between locations

Sydney Marawi 5,450 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Marawi

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 Marawi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Marawi differ by about 334% in total monthly costs ($3,152 vs $727 including rent). Marawi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1323% 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 $272 in Marawi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,152 per month in Sydney versus $727 in Marawi – a 334% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Marawi runs roughly 1082% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $727 in Marawi versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Marawi but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Marawi 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 Marawi 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 Marawi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 334% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.