Cost of living comparison

compared to

Polokwane vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Polokwane is 5.8% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 40.6% more in Polokwane
Groceries: pay 28.9% less in Polokwane
Transportation: pay 73.0% more in Polokwane
Housing: pay 11.8% less in Polokwane
Childcare: pay 33.9% less in Polokwane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.3% less in Polokwane
Clothing: pay 17.2% more in Polokwane

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

Polokwane vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.6% more for restaurants

	Manila	Polokwane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$11.47 ZAR194.10	+90.5%
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	$0.89 ZAR15.04	-8.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.84 ZAR14.14	+65.9%
Average			+40.6%

Manila vs. Polokwane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.9% less for groceries

	Manila	Polokwane
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.11 ZAR18.73	-17.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$3.66 ZAR61.95	-14.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$4.73 ZAR80.12	-35.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.37 ZAR40.14	+7.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$1.76 ZAR29.79	-22.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$0.78 ZAR13.27	-48.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.72 ZAR12.11	-13.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.72 ZAR12.14	-56.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.80 ZAR13.51	-22.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.66 ZAR11.14	-43.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.66 ZAR11.11	-52.2%
Average			-28.9%

Manila vs. Polokwane - Cost of groceries

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pay 73.0% more for transportation

	Manila	Polokwane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$4.82 ZAR81.55	+15.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$28.67 ZAR485.26	+108.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$14,334.37 ZAR242,627.92	-43.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$9.12 ZAR154.31	+211.7%
Average			+73.0%

Manila vs. Polokwane - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.8% less for housing

	Manila	Polokwane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$35.26 ZAR596.86	+30.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$272.35 ZAR4,609.93	-46.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$191.12 ZAR3,235.04	-24.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$94.17 ZAR1,594.01	-6.3%
Average			-11.8%

Manila vs. Polokwane - Cost of housing

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pay 33.9% less for childcare

	Manila	Polokwane
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	$1,376.10 ZAR23,292.28	-91.9%
Average			-33.9%

Manila vs. Polokwane - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Polokwane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$1.66 ZAR28.14	+13.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$2.24 ZAR37.94	-13.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$2.58 ZAR43.67	-21.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$19.64 ZAR332.40	-53.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$7.31 ZAR123.74	-2.3%
Average			-15.3%

Manila vs. Polokwane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.2% more for clothing

	Manila	Polokwane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$43.58 ZAR737.59	-11.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$35.36 ZAR598.48	+19.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$76.45 ZAR1,294.02	-5.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$82.87 ZAR1,402.76	+66.8%
Average			+17.2%

Manila vs. Polokwane - 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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