Cost of living comparison

compared to

Alor Setar vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Alor Setar is 23.6% cheaper than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 39.6% less in Alor Setar
Groceries: pay 36.6% less in Alor Setar
Transportation: pay 3.2% more in Alor Setar
Housing: pay 39.1% less in Alor Setar
Childcare: pay 54.5% less in Alor Setar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.4% more in Alor Setar
Clothing: pay 2.8% less in Alor Setar

The cost of entertainment and sports and transportation in Alor Setar are more expensive than in Manila. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Alor Setar.

Alor Setar vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Alor Setar instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 39.6% less for restaurants

	Manila	Alor Setar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$1.95 MYR8.04	-67.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$4.21 MYR17.30	-2.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$0.53 MYR2.19	-45.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.28 MYR1.17	-43.5%
Average			-39.6%

Manila vs. Alor Setar - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.6% less for groceries

	Manila	Alor Setar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$0.87 MYR3.57	-34.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$5.96 MYR24.52	+39.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$6.07 MYR24.95	-17.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$1.49 MYR6.14	-32.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$1.40 MYR5.74	-38.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$1.06 MYR4.36	-30.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.48 MYR1.99	-41.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.64 MYR2.65	-60.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.65 MYR2.68	-36.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.37 MYR1.53	-68.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.24 MYR0.97	-82.8%
Average			-36.6%

Manila vs. Alor Setar - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.2% more for transportation

	Manila	Alor Setar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$1.84 MYR7.56	-56.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$8.53 MYR35.07	-38.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$33,767.77 MYR138,819.31	+33.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$5.07 MYR20.85	+73.4%
Average			+3.2%

Manila vs. Alor Setar - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.1% less for housing

	Manila	Alor Setar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$24.82 MYR102.04	-8.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$296.21 MYR1,217.71	-42.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$173.78 MYR714.39	-31.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$25.46 MYR104.65	-74.7%
Average			-39.1%

Manila vs. Alor Setar - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.5% less for childcare

	Manila	Alor Setar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$82.94 MYR340.96	-40.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$5,331.75 MYR21,918.84	-68.7%
Average			-54.5%

Manila vs. Alor Setar - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Alor Setar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$3.55 MYR14.61	+143.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$2.29 MYR9.42	-11.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$2.84 MYR11.69	-13.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$21.33 MYR87.68	-49.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$3.97 MYR16.32	-47.0%
Average			+4.4%

Manila vs. Alor Setar - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.8% less for clothing

	Manila	Alor Setar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$47.39 MYR194.83	-3.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$29.03 MYR119.34	-2.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$71.09 MYR292.25	-12.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$53.02 MYR217.97	+6.7%
Average			-2.8%

Manila vs. Alor Setar - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Manila vs.

Mexico City

Manila vs.

Phnom Penh

Manila vs.

Dodoma

Manila vs.

Ottawa

Manila vs.

Rome

Manila vs.

Prague

Manila vs.

Singapore

Manila vs.

Canberra

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Manila

Add prices for Alor Setar

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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