Cost of living comparison

compared to

Chengdu vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Chengdu is 8.6% cheaper than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 33.1% less in Chengdu
Groceries: pay 32.5% less in Chengdu
Transportation: pay 24.2% more in Chengdu
Housing: pay 46.6% less in Chengdu
Childcare: pay 49.0% more in Chengdu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.2% less in Chengdu
Clothing: pay 9.1% less in Chengdu

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

Chengdu vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.1% less for restaurants

	Manila	Chengdu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱348.97	$2.80 CN¥19.37	-53.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱249.26	$4.91 CN¥33.90	+14.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱56.29	$0.47 CN¥3.23	-51.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.19	$0.30 CN¥2.05	-41.2%
Average			-33.1%

Manila vs. Chengdu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.5% less for groceries

	Manila	Chengdu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱77.29	$1.53 CN¥10.55	+14.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱247.81	$6.25 CN¥43.18	+46.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱424.26	$6.99 CN¥48.28	-4.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱128.28	$1.76 CN¥12.14	-20.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱132.33	$1.53 CN¥10.60	-32.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱87.85	$0.79 CN¥5.47	-47.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱47.66	$0.50 CN¥3.46	-39.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱94.86	$0.54 CN¥3.76	-66.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱59.33	$0.45 CN¥3.13	-55.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱67.80	$0.29 CN¥2.03	-74.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱79.66	$0.34 CN¥2.32	-75.5%
Average			-32.5%

Manila vs. Chengdu - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.2% more for transportation

	Manila	Chengdu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱242.25	$4.42 CN¥30.53	+5.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱797.64	$26.64 CN¥184.03	+93.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1M	$19,627.64 CN¥136K	-22.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱169.50	$3.50 CN¥24.21	+19.8%
Average			+24.2%

Manila vs. Chengdu - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.6% less for housing

	Manila	Chengdu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,570.76	$11.43 CN¥78.94	-57.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱29,730.16	$321.05 CN¥2,218.07	-37.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,590.09	$192.07 CN¥1,326.97	-23.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,824.20	$32.46 CN¥224.26	-67.7%
Average			-46.6%

Manila vs. Chengdu - Cost of housing

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pay 49.0% more for childcare

	Manila	Chengdu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,031.79	$318.07 CN¥2,197.49	+129.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱987K	$11,683.12 CN¥80,715.73	-31.4%
Average			+49.0%

Manila vs. Chengdu - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Chengdu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱84.75	$1.12 CN¥7.75	-23.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱149.96	$2.74 CN¥18.96	+6.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱189.44	$3.50 CN¥24.21	+7.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,441.94	$31.23 CN¥215.79	-25.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱433.72	$5.61 CN¥38.74	-25.1%
Average			-12.2%

Manila vs. Chengdu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.1% less for clothing

	Manila	Chengdu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,853.10	$35.46 CN¥244.96	-28.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,721.18	$31.14 CN¥215.13	+4.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,686.06	$67.73 CN¥467.94	-16.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,880.25	$51.07 CN¥352.84	+2.8%
Average			-9.1%

Manila vs. Chengdu - 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: February 2026

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