Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

Tonga

Nuku'alofa vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Nuku'alofa is 11.4% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 99.6% more in Nuku'alofa
Groceries: pay 18.4% more in Nuku'alofa
Transportation: pay 15.1% more in Nuku'alofa
Housing: pay 39.4% more in Nuku'alofa
Childcare: pay 91.6% less in Nuku'alofa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Nuku'alofa
Clothing: pay 61.5% less in Nuku'alofa

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

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Nuku'alofa vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nuku'alofa instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 99.6% more for restaurants

	Manila	Nuku'alofa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.58 ₱354.92	$8.31 TOP20.00	+48.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.98 ₱253.52	$10.38 TOP25.00	+160.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.40 ₱89.24	$2.84 TOP6.83	+102.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ₱53.84	$2.46 TOP5.92	+190.4%
Average			+99.6%

Manila vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.4% more for groceries

	Manila	Nuku'alofa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 ₱91.83	$1.04 TOP2.50	-28.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 ₱247.19	$4.50 TOP10.83	+15.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 ₱460.06	$5.92 TOP14.26	-18.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ₱145.12	$5.09 TOP12.27	+123.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 ₱138.86	$2.67 TOP6.43	+22.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.49 ₱94.75	$1.26 TOP3.02	-15.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 ₱54.02	$1.26 TOP3.02	+47.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 ₱86.61	$1.32 TOP3.18	-3.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ₱52.49	$1.70 TOP4.08	+105.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 ₱65.61	$1.44 TOP3.48	+40.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱76.47	$1.19 TOP2.87	-0.7%
Average			+18.4%

Manila vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.1% more for transportation

	Manila	Nuku'alofa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 ₱315.31	$5.50 TOP13.25	+11.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.75 ₱811.25	$41.53 TOP100.00	+225.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,359.52 ₱1M	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	-72.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.54 ₱161.74	$18.69 TOP45.00	+635.1%
Average			+15.1%

Manila vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.4% more for housing

	Manila	Nuku'alofa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.14 ₱1,535.97	$124.60 TOP300.00	+416.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.82 ₱34,596.58	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	+14.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.50 ₱17,908.42	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.04 ₱5,982.91	$142.92 TOP344.12	+52.0%
Average			+39.4%

Manila vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of housing

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pay 91.6% less for childcare

	Manila	Nuku'alofa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$619.65 ₱39,420.99	$157.82 TOP380.00	-74.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,932.60 ₱568K	$249.19 TOP600.00	-97.2%
Average			-91.6%

Manila vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Nuku'alofa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.20 ₱76.06	$3.32 TOP8.00	+177.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.55 ₱162.25	$2.91 TOP7.00	+14.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.11 ₱197.74	$10.18 TOP24.50	+227.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.86 ₱2,726.83	$31.15 TOP75.00	-27.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.77 ₱430.98	$41.53 TOP100.00	+513.1%
Average			+106.0%

Manila vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 61.5% less for clothing

	Manila	Nuku'alofa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.27 ₱3,706.98	$14.54 TOP35.00	-75.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.47 ₱1,747.87	$17.65 TOP42.50	-35.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.69 ₱4,878.68	$20.77 TOP50.00	-72.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.51 ₱3,658.95	$29.07 TOP70.00	-49.5%
Average			-61.5%

Manila vs. Nuku'alofa - 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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