Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santa Marta vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Santa Marta is 16.6% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 11.8% more in Santa Marta
Groceries: pay 30.1% less in Santa Marta
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Santa Marta
Housing: pay 10.6% more in Santa Marta
Childcare: pay 21.3% less in Santa Marta
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.5% less in Santa Marta
Clothing: pay 46.0% more in Santa Marta

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

Santa Marta vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Marta instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.8% more for restaurants

	Manila	Santa Marta
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.94	$3.88 COP14,761.42	-35.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱254.24	$9.06 COP34,443.31	+110.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.42	$0.72 COP2,755.46	-25.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.77	$0.49 COP1,869.78	-2.4%
Average			+11.8%

Manila vs. Santa Marta - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.1% less for groceries

	Manila	Santa Marta
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.84	$1.73 COP6,560.63	+29.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.76	$2.67 COP10,168.98	-37.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.73	$4.60 COP17,508.46	-37.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.84	$2.55 COP9,709.73	+15.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.98	$2.76 COP10,504.77	+21.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.60	$1.06 COP4,034.35	-30.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.61	$0.36 COP1,383.77	-55.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.75	$0.53 COP2,023.58	-67.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.52	$0.58 COP2,202.13	-43.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.16	$0.30 COP1,145.70	-74.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.25	$0.67 COP2,529.48	-51.6%
Average			-30.1%

Manila vs. Santa Marta - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Manila	Santa Marta
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱247.09	$3.91 COP14,856.37	-6.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱813.57	$15.53 COP59,045.67	+12.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,494,934.54	$20,963.08 COP79,711,656.05	-17.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.88	$18.50 COP70,362.76	+532.7%
Average			+130.5%

Manila vs. Santa Marta - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.6% more for housing

	Manila	Santa Marta
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,602.13	$20.70 COP78,727.56	-23.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,323.92	$291.15 COP1,107,106.33	-43.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,881.48	$381.17 COP1,449,388.35	+51.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,940.52	$158.55 COP602,889.46	+57.8%
Average			+10.6%

Manila vs. Santa Marta - Cost of housing

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pay 21.3% less for childcare

	Manila	Santa Marta
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,192.20	$176.01 COP669,282.68	+27.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,007,046.89	$5,176.07 COP19,681,890.38	-69.6%
Average			-21.3%

Manila vs. Santa Marta - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Santa Marta
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.44	$1.04 COP3,936.38	-29.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.95	$1.71 COP6,519.63	-33.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱193.22	$2.85 COP10,825.04	-12.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,490.71	$20.70 COP78,727.56	-50.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱442.38	$5.18 COP19,681.89	-30.8%
Average			-31.5%

Manila vs. Santa Marta - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.0% more for clothing

	Manila	Santa Marta
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,910.08	$55.21 COP209,940.16	+12.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,755.55	$56.76 COP215,844.73	+91.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,779.65	$123.76 COP470,594.48	+53.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,937.78	$63.41 COP241,103.16	+27.6%
Average			+46.0%

Manila vs. Santa Marta - 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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