Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lae vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary
Lae is 2.5 times more expensive than Manila.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.1 times more in Lae
- Groceries
-
pay 38.2% more in Lae
- Transportation
-
pay 2.7% more in Lae
- Housing
-
pay 6.2 times more in Lae
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 91.6% more in Lae
The cost of housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation in Lae are more expensive than in Manila. Notably, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Lae.
Lae vs. Manila Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lae instead of Manila, you would:
pay 2.1 times more for restaurants
|
Manila
|
Lae
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.02
₱355.94
|
$26.27
PGK111.87
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.30
₱254.24
|
?? | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.97
₱57.42
|
$0.84
PGK3.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.50
₱29.77
|
$0.60
PGK2.54
|
|
Manila vs. Lae - Cost of restaurants
pay 38.2% more for groceries
|
Manila
|
Lae
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.33
₱78.84
|
$1.55
PGK6.61
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.28
₱252.76
|
$5.01
PGK21.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.32
₱432.73
|
$8.13
PGK34.65
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.21
₱130.84
|
$4.23
PGK18.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.28
₱134.98
|
$4.44
PGK18.91
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
₱89.60
|
$2.17
PGK9.23
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
₱48.61
|
$1.35
PGK5.77
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.64
₱96.75
|
$2.98
PGK12.69
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.02
₱60.52
|
$0.76
PGK3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.17
₱69.16
|
$1.68
PGK7.15
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.37
₱81.25
|
$1.14
PGK4.84
|
|
Manila vs. Lae - Cost of groceries
pay 2.7% more for transportation
|
Manila
|
Lae
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.18
₱247.09
|
$4.29
PGK18.29
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$13.76
₱813.57
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,288.58
₱1,494,934.54
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$2.92
₱172.88
|
?? | |
Manila vs. Lae - Cost of transportation
pay 6.2 times more for housing
|
Manila
|
Lae
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$27.10
₱1,602.13
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$512.96
₱30,323.92
|
$4,238.78
PGK18,053.81
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$251.74
₱14,881.48
|
$1,043.27
PGK4,443.48
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$100.49
₱5,940.52
|
?? | |
Manila vs. Lae - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Manila
|
Lae
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$138.58
₱8,192.20
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,035.39
₱1,007,046.89
|
?? |
Manila vs. Lae - Cost of childcare
pay 91.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Manila
|
Lae
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.46
₱86.44
|
$3.58
PGK15.26
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.59
₱152.95
|
$2.87
PGK12.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.27
₱193.22
|
$7.16
PGK30.51
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$42.13
₱2,490.71
|
?? | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.48
₱442.38
|
?? | |
Manila vs. Lae - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Manila
|
Lae
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.23
₱2,910.08
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$29.70
₱1,755.55
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.85
₱4,779.65
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$49.70
₱2,937.78
|
?? |
Manila vs. Lae - Cost of clothing
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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