Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

Mexico

Mexico City vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 47.4% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 13.9% more in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 30.0% more in Mexico City
Housing: pay 69.8% more in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 2.6% less in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.1% more in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 61.4% more in Mexico City

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

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Mexico City vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Manila	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.58 ₱351.45	$11.13 MX$205.76	+99.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.98 ₱251.03	$11.07 MX$204.73	+177.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.40 ₱88.36	$1.63 MX$30.14	+16.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ₱53.31	$1.30 MX$24.06	+53.8%
Average			+106.7%

Manila vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.9% more for groceries

	Manila	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 ₱90.93	$3.03 MX$56.07	+110.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 ₱244.77	$6.02 MX$111.38	+55.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 ₱455.56	$6.73 MX$124.42	-7.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ₱143.70	$2.87 MX$53.00	+25.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 ₱137.50	$4.39 MX$81.13	+101.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.49 ₱93.83	$1.43 MX$26.42	-4.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 ₱53.49	$0.90 MX$16.67	+6.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 ₱85.76	$0.93 MX$17.19	-31.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ₱51.97	$1.04 MX$19.27	+26.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 ₱64.97	$0.91 MX$16.90	-11.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱75.72	$0.85 MX$15.71	-29.3%
Average			+13.9%

Manila vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.0% more for transportation

	Manila	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 ₱312.22	$5.76 MX$106.56	+16.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.75 ₱803.31	$20.03 MX$370.37	+57.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,359.52 ₱1M	$21,528.95 MX$398K	+0.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.54 ₱160.16	$6.54 MX$120.88	+157.1%
Average			+30.0%

Manila vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.8% more for housing

	Manila	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	$34.66 MX$640.87	+43.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	$1,053.82 MX$19,488.15	+93.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	$672.38 MX$12,434.27	+138.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	$47.71 MX$882.34	-49.3%
Average			+69.8%

Manila vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6% less for childcare

	Manila	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	$435.78 MX$8,058.88	-29.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,932.60 ₱563K	$12,045.70 MX$223K	+34.9%
Average			-2.6%

Manila vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.20 ₱75.31	$3.34 MX$61.73	+179.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.55 ₱160.66	$3.80 MX$70.36	+49.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.11 ₱195.81	$5.29 MX$97.74	+70.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	$57.09 MX$1,055.72	+33.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.77 ₱426.76	$6.68 MX$123.46	-1.5%
Average			+50.1%

Manila vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 61.4% more for clothing

	Manila	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	$70.61 MX$1,305.78	+21.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	$53.64 MX$991.98	+95.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	$109.04 MX$2,016.43	+42.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	$115.97 MX$2,144.64	+101.6%
Average			+61.4%

Manila vs. Mexico City - 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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