Cost of living comparison

compared to

Johannesburg vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Johannesburg is 40.1% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 45.1% more in Johannesburg
Groceries: pay 25.0% less in Johannesburg
Transportation: pay 3.0 times more in Johannesburg
Housing: pay 20.8% more in Johannesburg
Childcare: pay 5.0% less in Johannesburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.1% more in Johannesburg
Clothing: pay 32.5% more in Johannesburg

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

Johannesburg vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.1% more for restaurants

	Manila	Johannesburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$11.47 ZAR194.18	+90.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$4.93 ZAR83.50	+14.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$1.06 ZAR17.97	+9.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.84 ZAR14.15	+66.0%
Average			+45.1%

Manila vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.0% less for groceries

	Manila	Johannesburg
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.11 ZAR18.74	-17.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$4.31 ZAR73.04	+0.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$4.73 ZAR80.15	-35.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.37 ZAR40.15	+7.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$2.30 ZAR39.00	+0.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$0.78 ZAR13.27	-48.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.72 ZAR12.12	-12.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.72 ZAR12.15	-56.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.80 ZAR13.51	-22.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.66 ZAR11.14	-43.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.70 ZAR11.91	-48.8%
Average			-25.0%

Manila vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.0 times more for transportation

	Manila	Johannesburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$4.84 ZAR81.88	+15.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$86.04 ZAR1,456.32	+525.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$22,943.68 ZAR388,351.61	-9.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$11.24 ZAR190.29	+284.4%
Average			+204.0%

Manila vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.8% more for housing

	Manila	Johannesburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$41.63 ZAR704.68	+53.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$434.32 ZAR7,351.50	-15.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$380.92 ZAR6,447.52	+51.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$94.21 ZAR1,594.62	-6.3%
Average			+20.8%

Manila vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing

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pay 5.0% less for childcare

	Manila	Johannesburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$218.24 ZAR3,693.96	+57.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$5,560.97 ZAR94,126.72	-67.4%
Average			-5.0%

Manila vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Johannesburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$2.58 ZAR43.69	+76.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$2.24 ZAR37.95	-13.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$3.15 ZAR53.40	-3.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$35.07 ZAR593.56	-16.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$7.31 ZAR123.79	-2.3%
Average			+8.1%

Manila vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.5% more for clothing

	Manila	Johannesburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$53.86 ZAR911.70	+9.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$41.32 ZAR699.47	+39.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$92.73 ZAR1,569.59	+14.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$82.91 ZAR1,403.29	+66.8%
Average			+32.5%

Manila vs. Johannesburg - 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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