Cost of living comparison

compared to

Palmerston North vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Palmerston North is 2.4 times more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Palmerston North
Groceries: pay 15.5% more in Palmerston North
Transportation: pay 3.5 times more in Palmerston North
Housing: pay 63.3% more in Palmerston North
Childcare: pay 3.6 times more in Palmerston North
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.6 times more in Palmerston North
Clothing: pay 35.3% more in Palmerston North

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

Palmerston North vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palmerston North instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Manila	Palmerston North
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$14.42 NZ$24.97	+139.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$9.91 NZ$17.16	+130.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$2.36 NZ$4.08	+142.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$2.01 NZ$3.48	+299.5%
Average			+178.1%

Manila vs. Palmerston North - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.5% more for groceries

	Manila	Palmerston North
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.99 NZ$3.45	+49.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$3.89 NZ$6.74	-8.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$7.12 NZ$12.32	-2.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$5.13 NZ$8.88	+131.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$3.99 NZ$6.91	+74.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$1.07 NZ$1.86	-29.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.80 NZ$1.39	-2.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$1.08 NZ$1.87	-34.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$1.48 NZ$2.55	+44.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.91 NZ$1.58	-21.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.95 NZ$1.65	-30.6%
Average			+15.5%

Manila vs. Palmerston North - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.5 times more for transportation

	Manila	Palmerston North
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$6.11 NZ$10.57	+46.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$70.50 NZ$122.03	+412.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$22,211.80 NZ$38,448.69	-12.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$18.92 NZ$32.76	+547.1%
Average			+248.3%

Manila vs. Palmerston North - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 63.3% more for housing

	Manila	Palmerston North
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$45.43 NZ$78.65	+67.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$807.70 NZ$1,398.13	+57.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$663.47 NZ$1,148.47	+163.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$64.71 NZ$112.00	-35.6%
Average			+63.3%

Manila vs. Palmerston North - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.6 times more for childcare

	Manila	Palmerston North
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$961.55 NZ$1,664.45	+593.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$4,843.04 NZ$8,383.31	-71.6%
Average			+261.1%

Manila vs. Palmerston North - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.6 times more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Palmerston North
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$6.44 NZ$11.14	+340.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$3.32 NZ$5.74	+28.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$17.88 NZ$30.96	+447.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$22.69 NZ$39.28	-46.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$8.65 NZ$14.98	+15.6%
Average			+157.0%

Manila vs. Palmerston North - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.3% more for clothing

	Manila	Palmerston North
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$66.35 NZ$114.85	+34.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$36.06 NZ$62.42	+21.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$87.26 NZ$151.05	+7.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$87.98 NZ$152.30	+77.0%
Average			+35.3%

Manila vs. Palmerston North - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Manila vs.

Madrid

Manila vs.

Algiers

Manila vs.

Paris

Manila vs.

Berlin

Manila vs.

Delhi

Manila vs.

Prague

Manila vs.

Rome

Manila vs.

Canberra

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Philippines vs. New Zealand. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Philippines and New Zealand.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Manila

Add prices for Palmerston North

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Palmerston North or Manila. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.