Cost of living comparison

compared to

Richards Bay vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Richards Bay is 14.4% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 19.8% more in Richards Bay
Groceries: pay 35.8% less in Richards Bay
Transportation: pay 2.8 times more in Richards Bay
Housing: pay 7.7% more in Richards Bay
Childcare: pay 58.9% less in Richards Bay
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.0% less in Richards Bay
Clothing: pay 6.7% more in Richards Bay

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

Richards Bay vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Richards Bay instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.8% more for restaurants

	Manila	Richards Bay
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$7.17 ZAR121.31	+19.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$5.16 ZAR87.35	+20.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$0.92 ZAR15.66	-4.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.73 ZAR12.36	+45.0%
Average			+19.8%

Manila vs. Richards Bay - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.8% less for groceries

	Manila	Richards Bay
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$0.94 ZAR15.86	-29.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$3.67 ZAR62.15	-14.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$3.64 ZAR61.54	-50.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.18 ZAR36.91	-1.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$2.10 ZAR35.51	-8.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$0.74 ZAR12.47	-51.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.66 ZAR11.20	-19.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.64 ZAR10.75	-61.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.63 ZAR10.66	-38.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.52 ZAR8.80	-55.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.49 ZAR8.36	-64.0%
Average			-35.8%

Manila vs. Richards Bay - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.8 times more for transportation

	Manila	Richards Bay
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$5.04 ZAR85.27	+20.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$97.47 ZAR1,649.87	+608.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$20,354.81 ZAR344,531.64	-19.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$5.73 ZAR97.05	+96.1%
Average			+176.3%

Manila vs. Richards Bay - Cost of transportation

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pay 7.7% more for housing

	Manila	Richards Bay
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$35.68 ZAR603.91	+31.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$401.36 ZAR6,793.58	-21.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$301.02 ZAR5,095.19	+19.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$101.94 ZAR1,725.51	+1.4%
Average			+7.7%

Manila vs. Richards Bay - Cost of housing

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pay 58.9% less for childcare

	Manila	Richards Bay
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$93.17 ZAR1,577.08	-32.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$2,537.18 ZAR42,945.14	-85.1%
Average			-58.9%

Manila vs. Richards Bay - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Richards Bay
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$1.43 ZAR24.26	-2.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$2.00 ZAR33.92	-22.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$2.47 ZAR41.73	-24.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$32.97 ZAR558.04	-21.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$7.17 ZAR121.31	-4.2%
Average			-15.0%

Manila vs. Richards Bay - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.7% more for clothing

	Manila	Richards Bay
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$46.39 ZAR785.28	-5.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$19.30 ZAR326.74	-35.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$87.44 ZAR1,480.03	+8.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$79.31 ZAR1,342.46	+59.6%
Average			+6.7%

Manila vs. Richards Bay - 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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