Cost of living comparison

Brunei

compared to

Philippines

Manila vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 2.2% cheaper than Bandar Seri Begawan.

Restaurants: pay 10.4% more in Manila
Groceries: pay 0.2% less in Manila
Transportation: pay 90.9% more in Manila
Housing: pay 23.3% less in Manila
Childcare: pay 62.0% more in Manila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.4% less in Manila
Clothing: pay 39.5% less in Manila

The cost of transportation, childcare, and restaurants in Manila are more expensive than in Bandar Seri Begawan. Expenses including clothing, entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries are lower in Manila. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Manila.

Planning a move to Philippines? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Manila vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Manila instead of Bandar Seri Begawan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.4% more for restaurants

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.91 BND5.03	$5.58 ₱356.83	+42.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 BND7.95	$3.98 ₱254.88	-35.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 BND1.19	$1.40 ₱89.72	+51.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 BND0.66	$0.85 ₱54.13	+64.1%
Average			+10.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Manila - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.2% less for groceries

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Manila
Bread 1 loaf	$1.72 BND2.21	$1.44 ₱92.32	-16.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.69 BND6.04	$3.89 ₱248.52	-17.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.05 BND9.08	$7.23 ₱462.54	+2.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.04 BND2.63	$2.28 ₱145.90	+11.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.04 BND2.62	$2.18 ₱139.61	+7.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 BND1.83	$1.49 ₱95.26	+5.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 BND1.28	$0.85 ₱54.31	-14.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 BND1.71	$1.36 ₱87.08	+2.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 BND1.48	$0.83 ₱52.77	-28.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 BND0.99	$1.03 ₱65.96	+33.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 BND1.20	$1.20 ₱76.88	+29.2%
Average			-0.2%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Manila - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 90.9% more for transportation

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.55 BND2.00	$4.96 ₱317.01	+219.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$0.78 BND1.01	$12.75 ₱815.61	+1532.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,965.55 BND55,338.94	$21,359.52 ₱1M	-50.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.47 BND39.24	$2.54 ₱162.61	-91.7%
Average			+90.9%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Manila - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.3% less for housing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Manila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.10 BND83.85	$24.14 ₱1,544.23	-62.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$720.60 BND928.12	$543.82 ₱34,782.57	-24.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$473.37 BND609.69	$281.50 ₱18,004.70	-40.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.90 BND60.41	$94.04 ₱6,015.08	+100.5%
Average			-23.3%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Manila - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 62.0% more for childcare

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.79 BND279.22	$619.65 ₱39,632.91	+185.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,724.87 BND12,525.48	$8,932.60 ₱571K	-8.1%
Average			+62.0%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Manila - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 BND2.52	$1.20 ₱76.46	-38.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.91 BND5.03	$2.55 ₱163.12	-34.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$15.63 BND20.13	$3.11 ₱198.81	-80.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.57 BND58.69	$42.86 ₱2,741.49	-5.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.47 BND7.04	$6.77 ₱433.30	+23.9%
Average			-26.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Manila - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.5% less for clothing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Manila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$76.16 BND98.10	$58.27 ₱3,726.91	-23.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$93.73 BND120.72	$27.47 ₱1,757.27	-70.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.14 BND131.56	$76.69 ₱4,904.90	-24.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.26 BND93.07	$57.51 ₱3,678.62	-20.4%
Average			-39.5%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Manila - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Manila

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Manila?

More cost comparisons

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Shanghai

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Rome

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Madrid

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Sydney

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

New York City

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Lima

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Bandar Seri Begawan vs.

Toronto

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Brunei vs. Philippines. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Brunei and Philippines.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Bandar Seri Begawan

Add prices for Manila

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Manila or Bandar Seri Begawan. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.