Cost of living comparison

Nicaragua

compared to

Philippines

Manila vs. Managua Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 10.0% more expensive than Managua.

Restaurants: pay 34.6% less in Manila
Transportation: pay 1.6% less in Manila
Housing: pay 53.9% more in Manila
Childcare: pay 96.8% more in Manila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.4% less in Manila
Clothing: pay 43.5% less in Manila

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

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Manila vs. Managua Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 34.6% less for restaurants

	Managua	Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 NIO368.55	$5.58 ₱351.45	-44.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.61 NIO280.46	$3.98 ₱251.03	-47.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 NIO32.54	$1.40 ₱88.36	+58.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 NIO26.22	$0.85 ₱53.31	+19.0%
Average			-34.6%

Managua vs. Manila - Cost of restaurants

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pay about the same for groceries

	Managua	Manila
Bread 1 loaf	$2.37 NIO87.46	$1.44 ₱90.93	-39.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.80 NIO213.64	$3.89 ₱244.77	-33.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.68 NIO172.61	$7.23 ₱455.56	+54.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.37 NIO87.18	$2.28 ₱143.70	-3.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 NIO105.79	$2.18 ₱137.50	-24.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.82 NIO67.08	$1.49 ₱93.83	-18.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.27 NIO10.03	$0.85 ₱53.49	+212.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 NIO30.09	$1.36 ₱85.76	+66.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 NIO41.05	$0.83 ₱51.97	-25.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.79 NIO65.90	$1.03 ₱64.97	-42.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 NIO37.13	$1.20 ₱75.72	+19.3%

Managua vs. Manila - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.6% less for transportation

	Managua	Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.06 NIO186.38	$4.96 ₱312.22	-2.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.01 NIO221.41	$12.75 ₱803.31	+112.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,973.64 NIO847K	$21,359.52 ₱1M	-7.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.69 NIO541.39	$2.54 ₱160.16	-82.7%
Average			-1.6%

Managua vs. Manila - Cost of transportation

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pay 53.9% more for housing

	Managua	Manila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	-25.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	+112.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	+55.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	-18.8%
Average			+53.9%

Managua vs. Manila - Cost of housing

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pay 96.8% more for childcare

	Managua	Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	+162.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,060.00 NIO223K	$8,932.60 ₱563K	+47.4%
Average			+96.8%

Managua vs. Manila - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Managua	Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 NIO55.28	$1.20 ₱75.31	-20.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.60 NIO95.82	$2.55 ₱160.66	-1.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.73 NIO100.51	$3.11 ₱195.81	+14.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	+23.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.00 NIO331.69	$6.77 ₱426.76	-24.7%
Average			-5.4%

Managua vs. Manila - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.5% less for clothing

	Managua	Manila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	-2.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	-57.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	-37.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	-60.3%
Average			-43.5%

Managua vs. Manila - Cost of clothing

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

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