Cost of living comparison

compared to

Busan vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Busan is 78.5% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 76.7% more in Busan
Groceries: pay 72.9% more in Busan
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Busan
Housing: pay 15.2% more in Busan
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Busan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 55.3% more in Busan
Clothing: pay 86.5% more in Busan

The cost of transportation, childcare, clothing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Busan are more expensive than in Manila. Notably, transportation, childcare, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Busan.

Busan vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 76.7% more for restaurants

	Manila	Busan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.94	$7.08 ₩10,433	+17.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱254.24	$6.01 ₩8,868	+39.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.42	$1.83 ₩2,700	+88.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.77	$1.31 ₩1,938	+160.9%
Average			+76.7%

Manila vs. Busan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 72.9% more for groceries

	Manila	Busan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.84	$3.18 ₩4,695	+138.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.76	$5.09 ₩7,512	+19.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.73	$8.15 ₩12,020	+11.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.84	$2.88 ₩4,250	+30.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.98	$3.59 ₩5,300	+57.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.60	$3.69 ₩5,442	+143.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.61	$1.44 ₩2,130	+75.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.75	$3.33 ₩4,913	+103.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.52	$2.30 ₩3,388	+124.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.16	$2.25 ₩3,313	+92.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.25	$1.46 ₩2,153	+6.3%
Average			+72.9%

Manila vs. Busan - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Manila	Busan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱247.09	$4.36 ₩6,429	+4.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱813.57	$56.60 ₩83,465	+311.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,494,934.54	$26,696.92 ₩39,365,407	+5.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.88	$9.06 ₩13,354	+209.7%
Average			+132.7%

Manila vs. Busan - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.2% more for housing

	Manila	Busan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,602.13	$28.30 ₩41,733	+4.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,323.92	$489.40 ₩721,628	-4.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,881.48	$306.61 ₩452,104	+21.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,940.52	$139.76 ₩206,073	+39.1%
Average			+15.2%

Manila vs. Busan - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Manila	Busan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,192.20	$471.71 ₩695,545	+240.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,007,046.89	$13,620.52 ₩20,083,859	-20.0%
Average			+110.2%

Manila vs. Busan - Cost of childcare

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pay 55.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Busan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.44	$3.54 ₩5,217	+141.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.95	$4.00 ₩5,895	+54.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱193.22	$3.18 ₩4,695	-2.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,490.71	$57.31 ₩84,509	+36.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱442.38	$10.97 ₩16,171	+46.6%
Average			+55.3%

Manila vs. Busan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 86.5% more for clothing

	Manila	Busan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,910.08	$99.06 ₩146,064	+101.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,755.55	$61.91 ₩91,290	+108.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,779.65	$76.06 ₩112,157	-5.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,937.78	$120.29 ₩177,364	+142.0%
Average			+86.5%

Manila vs. Busan - Cost of clothing

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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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