Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Pasay

For one person, living is cheaper in Pasay: $907 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $26,900 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Pasay
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Pasay Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Pasay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$907

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Pasay

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

A single person spends $3,152 per month in Sydney vs $907 in Pasay, rent included.

Sydney $3,152
Pasay $907

A couple spends around $4,710 per month in Sydney vs $1,237 in Pasay, rent included.

Sydney $4,710
Pasay $1,237

A family of three spends $6,268 per month in Sydney vs $1,567 in Pasay, rent included.

Sydney $6,268
Pasay $1,567

Sydney costs about 248% more than Pasay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 133% above the global median, while Pasay is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$4.40 ₱277

299.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$18.94 ₱1,193

383.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$2.84 ₱179

321.13%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.26 ₱142

80.09%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.59 ₱37.36

383.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.30 ₱19.20

650.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.16 ₱73.2

555.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$1.58 ₱99.3

370.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.71 ₱108

-2.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.13 ₱71.4

146.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.97 ₱61.4

149.48%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$1.96 ₱123

187.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$5.15 ₱324

127.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$4.13 ₱260

133.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$7.18 ₱452

133.29%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.24 ₱141

81.70%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.53 ₱96.4

112.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.31 ₱146

48.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.16 ₱73.2

268.97%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$2.37 ₱149

38.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$3.34 ₱211

-31.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$1.25 ₱78.7

84.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.87 ₱55.0

39.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$2.88 ₱181

1417.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$7.68 ₱483

80.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.98 ₱61.7

297.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.77 ₱111

120.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.17 ₱10.43

1688.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$0.77 ₱48.72

338.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.21 ₱13.20

642.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$1.87 ₱118

2039.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.24 ₱78.1

12.90%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$21.5K ₱1.4M

35.35%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$19.2K ₱1.2M

56.59%

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

$223 A$320

$139 ₱8,741

60.33%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$14.54 ₱916

86.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$24.75 ₱1,558

125.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$47.70 ₱3,003

56.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$5.26 ₱331

233.84%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$71.9 ₱4,524

2955.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$2,541 ₱160.0K

1009.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$35.39 ₱2,228

121.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$19.32 ₱1,217

254.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$71.6 ₱4,505

55.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$63.6 ₱4,004

111.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$429 ₱27.0K

482.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$312 ₱19.7K

446.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$827 ₱52.1K

498.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$364 ₱22.9K

730.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$1,891 ₱119.0K

596.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$575 ₱36.2K

1356.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$510 ₱32.1K

706.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

-16.57%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pasay: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Pasay

$313 34.5% 81.7% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Pasay

$186 20.6% 50.8% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Pasay

$178 19.7% 41.7% $127

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Pasay

$83 9.2% 72.1% $215

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Pasay

$85 9.4% 51.6% $91

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Pasay

$2.5 * 0.3% 98.6% $171

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Pasay

$58 6.4% 47% $52

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,500 in Sydney versus $429 in Pasay. 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 707% 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 $19.00 in Pasay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $379 vs $186 – making Pasay the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 Pasay

🕒 Local time

02:00 2:00 AM

23:00 11:00 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

416,522

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Sydney Pasay 6,260 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Pasay

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 Pasay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,152 in Sydney, $907 in Pasay – roughly 248% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,728 per month in Sydney and $1,360 in Pasay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pasay, 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 $19.00 in Pasay. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 103% more in Sydney, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Pasay, where all-in costs run around $907, than in Sydney at $3,152. In Pasay it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Pasay – 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 Pasay. 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.