Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

El Salvador

San Salvador vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 43.6% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 29.8% more in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 24.3% more in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 73.2% more in San Salvador
Housing: pay 89.7% more in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 62.8% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.3% more in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 57.7% more in San Salvador

The cost of housing, transportation, clothing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in San Salvador are more expensive than in Manila. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in San Salvador.

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San Salvador vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 29.8% more for restaurants

	Manila	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.58 ₱351.45	$6.75 SVC59.06	+21.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.98 ₱251.03	$7.00 SVC61.25	+75.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.40 ₱88.36	$1.14 SVC10.01	-18.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ₱53.31	$0.83 SVC7.29	-1.5%
Average			+29.8%

Manila vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.3% more for groceries

	Manila	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 ₱90.93	$2.85 SVC24.94	+97.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 ₱244.77	$3.85 SVC33.72	-0.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 ₱455.56	$6.95 SVC60.81	-3.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ₱143.70	$3.02 SVC26.39	+32.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 ₱137.50	$3.16 SVC27.66	+44.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.49 ₱93.83	$2.29 SVC20.07	+54.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 ₱53.49	$0.63 SVC5.54	-25.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 ₱85.76	$1.18 SVC10.35	-13.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ₱51.97	$1.56 SVC13.68	+89.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 ₱64.97	$1.33 SVC11.65	+29.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱75.72	$1.49 SVC13.05	+24.1%
Average			+24.3%

Manila vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 73.2% more for transportation

	Manila	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 ₱312.22	$4.75 SVC41.60	-4.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.75 ₱803.31	$37.50 SVC328.13	+194.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,359.52 ₱1M	$25,000.00 SVC219K	+17.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.54 ₱160.16	$30.00 SVC262.50	+1080.0%
Average			+73.2%

Manila vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 89.7% more for housing

	Manila	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	$42.50 SVC371.88	+76.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	+65.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	+173.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	$99.35 SVC869.35	+5.6%
Average			+89.7%

Manila vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 62.8% less for childcare

	Manila	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	-73.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,932.60 ₱563K	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	-47.2%
Average			-62.8%

Manila vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.20 ₱75.31	$2.00 SVC17.50	+67.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.55 ₱160.66	$3.55 SVC31.02	+39.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.11 ₱195.81	$4.00 SVC35.00	+28.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	$31.60 SVC276.50	-26.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.77 ₱426.76	$5.00 SVC43.75	-26.2%
Average			+4.3%

Manila vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.7% more for clothing

	Manila	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	$67.15 SVC587.57	+15.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	$47.00 SVC411.25	+71.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	+54.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	+103.4%
Average			+57.7%

Manila vs. San Salvador - 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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