Cost of living comparison

compared to

Midrand vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Midrand is 17.5% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 20.1% more in Midrand
Groceries: pay 30.2% less in Midrand
Transportation: pay 95.7% more in Midrand
Housing: pay 22.8% more in Midrand
Childcare: pay 21.7% less in Midrand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.5% more in Midrand
Clothing: pay 27.3% more in Midrand

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

Midrand vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.1% more for restaurants

	Manila	Midrand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$5.45 ZAR92.20	-9.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$4.93 ZAR83.46	+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 ZAR14.14	+65.9%
Average			+20.1%

Manila vs. Midrand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.2% less for groceries

	Manila	Midrand
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.06 ZAR17.95	-20.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$4.31 ZAR73.01	+0.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$4.12 ZAR69.80	-43.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.37 ZAR40.14	+7.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$2.30 ZAR38.99	+0.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$0.78 ZAR13.27	-48.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.47 ZAR7.92	-43.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.72 ZAR12.14	-56.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.65 ZAR11.01	-36.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.66 ZAR11.14	-43.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.70 ZAR11.90	-48.8%
Average			-30.2%

Manila vs. Midrand - Cost of groceries

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pay 95.7% more for transportation

	Manila	Midrand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$4.84 ZAR81.85	+15.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$52.35 ZAR886.12	+280.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$22,935.00 ZAR388,204.67	-9.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$5.73 ZAR97.05	+96.1%
Average			+95.7%

Manila vs. Midrand - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.8% more for housing

	Manila	Midrand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$41.62 ZAR704.42	+53.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$458.70 ZAR7,764.09	-10.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$430.03 ZAR7,278.84	+70.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$77.64 ZAR1,314.23	-22.7%
Average			+22.8%

Manila vs. Midrand - Cost of housing

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pay 21.7% less for childcare

	Manila	Midrand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$172.01 ZAR2,911.54	+24.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$5,558.87 ZAR94,091.11	-67.4%
Average			-21.7%

Manila vs. Midrand - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Midrand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$2.29 ZAR38.82	+56.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$1.43 ZAR24.26	-44.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$3.15 ZAR53.38	-3.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$57.34 ZAR970.51	+36.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$7.31 ZAR123.74	-2.3%
Average			+8.5%

Manila vs. Midrand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.3% more for clothing

	Manila	Midrand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$53.84 ZAR911.35	+9.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$41.31 ZAR699.21	+39.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$80.27 ZAR1,358.72	-0.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$80.27 ZAR1,358.72	+61.5%
Average			+27.3%

Manila vs. Midrand - 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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