Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sao Luis vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Sao Luis is 3.4% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 18.7% more in Sao Luis
Groceries: pay 27.4% less in Sao Luis
Transportation: pay 73.8% more in Sao Luis
Housing: pay 26.6% less in Sao Luis
Childcare: pay 9.6% less in Sao Luis
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.6% less in Sao Luis
Clothing: pay 9.5% more in Sao Luis

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

Sao Luis vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Luis instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.7% more for restaurants

	Manila	Sao Luis
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$6.06 R$32.94	+0.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$6.52 R$35.47	+51.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$1.02 R$5.57	+5.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.59 R$3.21	+17.2%
Average			+18.7%

Manila vs. Sao Luis - Cost of restaurants

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pay 27.4% less for groceries

	Manila	Sao Luis
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.93 R$10.47	+44.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$4.81 R$26.18	+12.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$3.93 R$21.35	-46.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$1.95 R$10.61	-11.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$1.82 R$9.88	-20.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$0.90 R$4.90	-40.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.60 R$3.24	-27.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.53 R$2.90	-67.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.69 R$3.75	-32.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.56 R$3.06	-51.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.56 R$3.03	-59.4%
Average			-27.4%

Manila vs. Sao Luis - Cost of groceries

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pay 73.8% more for transportation

	Manila	Sao Luis
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$3.92 R$21.33	-6.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$36.34 R$197.65	+164.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$19,303.66 R$105,000.31	-23.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$7.64 R$41.56	+161.2%
Average			+73.8%

Manila vs. Sao Luis - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.6% less for housing

	Manila	Sao Luis
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$18.29 R$99.50	-32.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$401.56 R$2,184.22	-21.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$218.95 R$1,190.94	-13.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$61.25 R$333.18	-39.0%
Average			-26.6%

Manila vs. Sao Luis - Cost of housing

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pay 9.6% less for childcare

	Manila	Sao Luis
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$214.29 R$1,165.60	+54.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$4,472.11 R$24,325.57	-73.7%
Average			-9.6%

Manila vs. Sao Luis - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Sao Luis
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$1.96 R$10.64	+33.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$2.11 R$11.49	-18.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$2.24 R$12.16	-31.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$20.46 R$111.31	-51.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$7.08 R$38.52	-5.4%
Average			-14.6%

Manila vs. Sao Luis - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.5% more for clothing

	Manila	Sao Luis
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$45.65 R$248.32	-7.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$48.82 R$265.55	+64.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$55.16 R$300.02	-31.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$55.90 R$304.07	+12.5%
Average			+9.5%

Manila vs. Sao Luis - 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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