Cost of living comparison

compared to

General Santos vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

General Santos is 17.2% cheaper than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 43.9% less in General Santos
Groceries: pay 19.3% less in General Santos
Transportation: pay 15.2% less in General Santos
Housing: pay 2.5% more in General Santos
Childcare: pay 35.6% less in General Santos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.1% less in General Santos
Clothing: pay 14.2% more in General Santos

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

General Santos vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in General Santos instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 43.9% less for restaurants

	Manila	General Santos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱353.05	$4.30 ₱252.18	-28.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱252.18	$3.01 ₱176.52	-30.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱56.95	$0.31 ₱18.16	-68.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.53	$0.26 ₱15.13	-48.8%
Average			-43.9%

Manila vs. General Santos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.3% less for groceries

	Manila	General Santos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.20	$1.25 ₱73.13	-6.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱250.71	$2.92 ₱171.48	-31.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱429.22	$6.76 ₱396.47	-7.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱129.78	$2.02 ₱118.69	-8.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱133.88	$1.99 ₱116.67	-12.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱88.87	$1.29 ₱75.49	-15.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.21	$0.51 ₱29.92	-37.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱95.97	$1.03 ₱60.58	-36.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.03	$0.61 ₱35.57	-40.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.60	$0.95 ₱55.90	-18.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱80.59	$1.42 ₱83.50	+3.6%
Average			-19.3%

Manila vs. General Santos - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.2% less for transportation

	Manila	General Santos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱245.08	$4.09 ₱239.60	-2.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱806.96	$8.60 ₱504.35	-37.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,482,795.87	$21,503.90 ₱1,260,880.84	-15.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱171.48	$2.75 ₱161.39	-5.9%
Average			-15.2%

Manila vs. General Santos - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.5% more for housing

	Manila	General Santos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,589.12	$33.83 ₱1,983.79	+24.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,077.69	??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,760.64	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,892.28	$80.46 ₱4,717.71	-19.9%
Average			+2.5%

Manila vs. General Santos - Cost of housing

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pay 35.6% less for childcare

	Manila	General Santos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,125.68	$115.64 ₱6,780.74	-16.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱998,869.80	$7,741.40 ₱453,917.10	-54.6%
Average			-35.6%

Manila vs. General Santos - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	General Santos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱85.74	$1.29 ₱75.65	-11.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱151.71	$2.15 ₱126.09	-16.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱191.65	$2.58 ₱151.31	-21.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,470.49	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱438.79	$4.30 ₱252.18	-42.5%
Average			-23.1%

Manila vs. General Santos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.2% more for clothing

	Manila	General Santos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,886.45	$64.51 ₱3,782.64	+31.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,741.30	$29.25 ₱1,714.80	-1.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,740.84	$75.26 ₱4,413.08	-6.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,913.92	$66.66 ₱3,908.73	+34.1%
Average			+14.2%

Manila vs. General Santos - 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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