Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 68.1% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 52.8% more in Seoul
Groceries: pay 73.3% more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Seoul
Housing: pay 49.2% more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 93.5% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.5% more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 31.5% more in Seoul

The cost of transportation, childcare, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and housing in Seoul are more expensive than in Manila. Notably, transportation and childcare are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

Seoul vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 52.8% more for restaurants

	Manila	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱353.05	$8.49 ₩12,461	+41.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱252.18	$6.30 ₩9,242	+46.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱56.95	$1.64 ₩2,405	+68.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.53	$0.78 ₩1,146	+55.0%
Average			+52.8%

Manila vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 73.3% more for groceries

	Manila	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.20	$3.24 ₩4,752	+142.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱250.71	$6.79 ₩9,969	+58.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱429.22	$7.85 ₩11,517	+7.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱129.78	$2.93 ₩4,303	+32.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱133.88	$4.67 ₩6,851	+104.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱88.87	$3.45 ₩5,057	+127.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.21	$1.52 ₩2,237	+85.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱95.97	$2.35 ₩3,451	+43.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.03	$2.77 ₩4,069	+170.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.60	$1.62 ₩2,376	+38.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱80.59	$1.30 ₩1,904	-5.6%
Average			+73.3%

Manila vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Manila	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱245.08	$4.43 ₩6,502	+6.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱806.96	$45.99 ₩67,498	+234.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,482,795.87	$25,072.36 ₩36,796,951	-0.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱171.48	$10.50 ₩15,410	+259.0%
Average			+124.6%

Manila vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.2% more for housing

	Manila	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,589.12	$20.56 ₩30,169	-24.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,077.69	$925.55 ₩1,358,372	+80.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,760.64	$559.33 ₩820,889	+122.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,892.28	$118.88 ₩174,474	+18.3%
Average			+49.2%

Manila vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 93.5% more for childcare

	Manila	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,125.68	$360.15 ₩528,564	+159.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱998,869.80	$21,667.04 ₩31,799,193	+27.2%
Average			+93.5%

Manila vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 51.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱85.74	$3.54 ₩5,192	+141.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱151.71	$3.70 ₩5,427	+42.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱191.65	$3.18 ₩4,673	-2.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,470.49	$56.34 ₩82,680	+33.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱438.79	$10.61 ₩15,577	+41.8%
Average			+51.5%

Manila vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.5% more for clothing

	Manila	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,886.45	$49.77 ₩73,037	+1.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,741.30	$39.49 ₩57,958	+33.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,740.84	$74.94 ₩109,988	-7.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,913.92	$99.06 ₩145,381	+99.3%
Average			+31.5%

Manila vs. Seoul - 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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