Cost of living comparison

compared to

Manila vs. Carolina Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 65.3% more expensive than Carolina.

Groceries
pay 40.4% less in Manila
Transportation
pay 1.0% less in Manila
Housing
pay 12.2% less in Manila
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.8 times more in Manila
Clothing
pay 2.0 times more in Manila

The cost of entertainment and sports and clothing in Manila are more expensive than in Carolina. Expenses including groceries, housing, and transportation are lower in Manila. Notably, entertainment and sports and clothing are significantly more expensive in Manila.

Manila vs. Carolina Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Manila instead of Carolina, you would:

pay (unknown) more for restaurants

 
Carolina
Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant ?? $6.02
₱355.03
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $4.30
₱253.60
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) ?? $0.97
₱57.27

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pay 40.4% less for groceries

 
Carolina
Manila
Bread
1 loaf
?? $1.33
₱78.64
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $4.28
₱252.12
Milk (1 gallon) $8.37
 
$7.32
₱431.63

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pay 1.0% less for transportation

 
Carolina
Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.22
 
$4.18
₱246.46
Monthly public transit pass ?? $13.76
₱811.51
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $25,288.58
₱1,491,141.28

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pay 12.2% less for housing

 
Carolina
Manila
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$44.00
 
$27.10
₱1,598.07
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $450.00
 
$512.96
₱30,246.98
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $251.74
₱14,843.72

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Carolina
Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $138.58
₱8,171.41
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $17,035.39
₱1,004,491.60

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pay 3.8 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Carolina
Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) ?? $1.46
₱86.22
Cappuccino in mid-range area ?? $2.59
₱152.56
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $3.27
₱192.73

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pay 2.0 times more for clothing

 
Carolina
Manila
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $49.23
₱2,902.69
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $29.70
₱1,751.10
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$40.00
 
$80.85
₱4,767.52

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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