Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Male is 41.6% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 29.1% more in Male
Groceries: pay 14.9% more in Male
Transportation: pay 56.3% more in Male
Housing: pay 89.3% more in Male
Childcare: pay 68.3% less in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Male
Clothing: pay 6.2% more in Male

The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, restaurants, groceries, and clothing in Male are more expensive than in Manila. Notably, entertainment and sports and housing are significantly more expensive in Male.

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Male vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 29.1% more for restaurants

	Manila	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.58 ₱351.45	$6.00 MVR92.80	+7.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.98 ₱251.03	$9.73 MVR150.49	+144.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.40 ₱88.36	$1.63 MVR25.14	+15.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ₱53.31	$0.30 MVR4.59	-64.9%
Average			+29.1%

Manila vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.9% more for groceries

	Manila	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 ₱90.93	$1.65 MVR25.58	+14.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 ₱244.77	$5.34 MVR82.48	+37.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 ₱455.56	$7.69 MVR118.88	+6.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ₱143.70	$1.92 MVR29.72	-15.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 ₱137.50	$2.77 MVR42.75	+26.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.49 ₱93.83	$1.80 MVR27.85	+20.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 ₱53.49	$1.39 MVR21.42	+63.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 ₱85.76	$1.85 MVR28.67	+36.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ₱51.97	$1.22 MVR18.85	+47.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 ₱64.97	$0.93 MVR14.41	-9.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱75.72	$0.86 MVR13.31	-28.4%
Average			+14.9%

Manila vs. Male - Cost of groceries

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pay 56.3% more for transportation

	Manila	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 ₱312.22	$3.81 MVR58.85	-23.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.75 ₱803.31	$30.82 MVR476.54	+141.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,359.52 ₱1M	$32,446.46 MVR502K	+51.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.54 ₱160.16	$17.52 MVR270.88	+589.2%
Average			+56.3%

Manila vs. Male - Cost of transportation

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pay 89.3% more for housing

	Manila	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	$73.00 MVR1,128.65	+202.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	$951.14 MVR14,704.70	+74.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	$699.92 MVR10,820.71	+148.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	$90.98 MVR1,406.51	-3.3%
Average			+89.3%

Manila vs. Male - Cost of housing

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pay 68.3% less for childcare

	Manila	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	$184.98 MVR2,859.75	-70.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,932.60 ₱563K	$3,004.83 MVR46,454.64	-66.4%
Average			-68.3%

Manila vs. Male - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.20 ₱75.31	$4.87 MVR75.24	+307.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.55 ₱160.66	$3.55 MVR54.87	+39.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.11 ₱195.81	$14.93 MVR230.75	+380.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	$70.81 MVR1,094.69	+65.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.77 ₱426.76	$9.73 MVR150.49	+43.7%
Average			+105.4%

Manila vs. Male - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.2% more for clothing

	Manila	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	$39.51 MVR610.88	-32.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	$49.64 MVR767.37	+80.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	$87.13 MVR1,346.98	+13.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	$52.52 MVR811.92	-8.7%
Average			+6.2%

Manila vs. Male - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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