Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and San Fernando

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $703 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,400 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
34

Cost of Living Index in San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

San Fernando

🇵🇭 Philippines

$703

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in San Fernando

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $703 in San Fernando.

Sydney $3,152
San Fernando $703

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,059 in San Fernando.

Sydney $4,710
San Fernando $1,059

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,415 in San Fernando.

Sydney $6,268
San Fernando $1,415

Living in Sydney is roughly 348% more expensive than in San Fernando, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, San Fernando is 48% below.

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

$16.71 ₱1,052

447.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$2.88 ₱181

315.28%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$1.77 ₱112

129.94%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.38 ₱23.97

650.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.31 ₱19.32

625.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$0.97 ₱61.2

683.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$1.25 ₱78.5

494.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.70 ₱107

-2.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.11 ₱70.1

150.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$0.99 ₱62.2

144.44%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$2.00 ₱126

182.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$4.95 ₱311

136.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$3.37 ₱212

186.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$7.79 ₱490

115.02%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.19 ₱138

85.84%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$1.26 ₱79.2

157.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.32 ₱146

48.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$1.07 ₱67.1

300.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$1.69 ₱106

94.08%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.57 ₱99.0

46.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$0.62 ₱39.14

270.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$0.53 ₱33.09

128.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$2.97 ₱187

1371.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$8.92 ₱561

55.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$0.97 ₱60.8

302.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$1.30 ₱81.7

200.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.26 ₱16.12

1069.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$11.02 ₱694

1263.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$0.67 ₱41.89

404.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.23 ₱14.36

578.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$0.94 ₱59.3

4156.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.01 ₱63.8

38.61%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$21.3K ₱1.3M

36.80%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

58.95%

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

$223 A$320

$141 ₱8,907

57.35%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$17.77 ₱1,119

52.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$23.40 ₱1,473

138.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$32.05 ₱2,018

132.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$4.68 ₱295

412.61%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$4.82 ₱303

264.32%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$80.0 ₱5,033

2646.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$1,118 ₱70.4K

2420.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$19.46 ₱1,225

303.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$16.21 ₱1,021

322.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$32.14 ₱2,023

246.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$48.08 ₱3,027

179.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$262 ₱16.5K

853.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$170 ₱10.7K

904.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$523 ₱32.9K

846.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$356 ₱22.4K

748.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$2,438 ₱153.5K

440.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$994 ₱62.6K

742.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$339 ₱21.3K

1114.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

-2.67%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Fernando: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

San Fernando

$170 24.2% 90% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

San Fernando

$170 24.3% 55% $208

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

San Fernando

$183 26% 40.2% $123

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

San Fernando

$72 10.3% 75.8% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

San Fernando

$52 7.4% 70.5% $124

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

San Fernando

$14 2% 92% $160

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

San Fernando

$42 5.9% 62% $68

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $262 in San Fernando. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 1114% 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 San Fernando for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $379 vs $170 per month, with San Fernando cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇭 San Fernando

🕒 Local time

02:06 2:06 AM

23:06 11:06 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

354,666

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sydney San Fernando 6,330 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
San Fernando

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 San Fernando: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and San Fernando differ by about 348% in total monthly costs ($3,152 vs $703 including rent). San Fernando is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1114% 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 $262 in San Fernando. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,196 in Sydney versus $80.0 in San Fernando. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 122% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $703 in San Fernando versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Fernando but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes San Fernando 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 San Fernando 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 San Fernando gentler on the wallet – expenses run 348% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.