Cost of living comparison

compared to

HsinChu vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

HsinChu is 60.9% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 0.1% less in HsinChu
Groceries: pay 38.4% more in HsinChu
Transportation: pay 84.3% more in HsinChu
Housing: pay 4.1% less in HsinChu
Childcare: pay 3.0 times more in HsinChu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.4% more in HsinChu
Clothing: pay 64.1% more in HsinChu

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

HsinChu vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.1% less for restaurants

	Manila	HsinChu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$3.93 NT$123.04	-34.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$5.24 NT$164.06	+21.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$0.85 NT$26.66	-12.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.63 NT$19.65	+24.7%
Average			-0.1%

Manila vs. HsinChu - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.4% more for groceries

	Manila	HsinChu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.81 NT$56.65	+35.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$6.76 NT$211.48	+58.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$11.62 NT$363.56	+58.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$3.18 NT$99.42	+43.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$2.13 NT$66.66	-6.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$1.90 NT$59.30	+25.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$1.09 NT$34.11	+32.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$1.83 NT$57.36	+12.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$1.68 NT$52.71	+64.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$1.98 NT$62.01	+69.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$1.78 NT$55.81	+29.8%
Average			+38.4%

Manila vs. HsinChu - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 84.3% more for transportation

	Manila	HsinChu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$3.82 NT$119.38	-8.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$39.32 NT$1,230.44	+185.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$40,144.19 NT$1,256,071.56	+58.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$5.90 NT$184.57	+101.7%
Average			+84.3%

Manila vs. HsinChu - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.1% less for housing

	Manila	HsinChu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$22.93 NT$717.41	-15.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$550.55 NT$17,226.12	+7.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$340.82 NT$10,663.79	+35.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$56.76 NT$1,775.99	-43.5%
Average			-4.1%

Manila vs. HsinChu - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.0 times more for childcare

	Manila	HsinChu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$710.03 NT$22,216.23	+412.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$14,992.63 NT$469,104.28	-12.0%
Average			+200.2%

Manila vs. HsinChu - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	HsinChu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$2.29 NT$71.78	+56.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$3.36 NT$105.10	+29.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$4.92 NT$153.80	+50.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$58.99 NT$1,845.66	+40.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$10.49 NT$328.12	+40.1%
Average			+43.4%

Manila vs. HsinChu - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 64.1% more for clothing

	Manila	HsinChu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$84.38 NT$2,640.31	+71.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$37.28 NT$1,166.35	+25.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$95.04 NT$2,973.56	+17.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$120.16 NT$3,759.67	+141.8%
Average			+64.1%

Manila vs. HsinChu - 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.

London

Manila vs.

Canberra

Manila vs.

Reykjavik

Manila vs.

Quito

Manila vs.

Ottawa

Manila vs.

Ankara

Manila vs.

Rome

Manila vs.

Madrid

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 HsinChu

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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