Cost of living comparison

compared to

Harbin vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Harbin is 3.5% cheaper than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 33.6% less in Harbin
Groceries: pay 20.8% less in Harbin
Transportation: pay 10.2% less in Harbin
Housing: pay 37.1% less in Harbin
Childcare: pay 15.1% more in Harbin
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.7% more in Harbin
Clothing: pay 61.2% more in Harbin

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

Harbin vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.6% less for restaurants

	Manila	Harbin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.94	$3.01 CN¥21.26	-49.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱254.24	$5.05 CN¥35.60	+17.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.42	$0.42 CN¥2.97	-56.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.77	$0.27 CN¥1.94	-45.4%
Average			-33.6%

Manila vs. Harbin - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.8% less for groceries

	Manila	Harbin
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.84	$1.87 CN¥13.19	+40.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.76	$5.26 CN¥37.09	+23.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.73	$7.25 CN¥51.17	-0.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.84	$1.28 CN¥9.03	-42.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.98	$1.65 CN¥11.66	-27.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.60	$1.14 CN¥8.08	-24.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.61	$0.81 CN¥5.68	-2.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.75	$1.12 CN¥7.93	-31.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.52	$0.49 CN¥3.44	-52.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.16	$0.36 CN¥2.54	-69.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.25	$0.79 CN¥5.61	-42.2%
Average			-20.8%

Manila vs. Harbin - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.2% less for transportation

	Manila	Harbin
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱247.09	$4.33 CN¥30.53	+3.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱813.57	$10.70 CN¥75.47	-22.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,494,934.54	$14,720.73 CN¥103,847.37	-41.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.88	$3.50 CN¥24.73	+19.8%
Average			-10.2%

Manila vs. Harbin - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.1% less for housing

	Manila	Harbin
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,602.13	$16.12 CN¥113.74	-40.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,323.92	$303.76 CN¥2,142.88	-40.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,881.48	$224.32 CN¥1,582.44	-10.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,940.52	$43.78 CN¥308.83	-56.4%
Average			-37.1%

Manila vs. Harbin - Cost of housing

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pay 15.1% more for childcare

	Manila	Harbin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,192.20	$233.66 CN¥1,648.37	+68.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,007,046.89	$10,514.80 CN¥74,176.69	-38.3%
Average			+15.1%

Manila vs. Harbin - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Harbin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.44	$0.91 CN¥6.43	-37.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.95	$2.71 CN¥19.12	+4.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱193.22	$2.38 CN¥16.81	-27.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,490.71	$79.45 CN¥560.45	+88.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱442.38	$5.61 CN¥39.56	-25.1%
Average			+0.7%

Manila vs. Harbin - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 61.2% more for clothing

	Manila	Harbin
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,910.08	$70.10 CN¥494.51	+42.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,755.55	$29.44 CN¥207.69	-0.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,779.65	$75.36 CN¥531.60	-6.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,937.78	$154.22 CN¥1,087.92	+210.3%
Average			+61.2%

Manila vs. Harbin - 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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