Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 20.6% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 34.9% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 31.2% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 13.8% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 25.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.6% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 23.6% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 34.9% more for restaurants

	Manila	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$9.33 ZAR157.99	+55.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$5.11 ZAR86.54	+18.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$1.03 ZAR17.46	+6.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.80 ZAR13.59	+59.5%
Average			+34.9%

Manila vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.2% less for groceries

	Manila	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.00 ZAR16.97	-24.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$3.88 ZAR65.75	-9.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$4.37 ZAR73.98	-40.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.33 ZAR39.49	+5.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$2.13 ZAR36.12	-6.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$0.73 ZAR12.33	-52.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.65 ZAR11.04	-20.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.68 ZAR11.57	-58.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$0.71 ZAR12.00	-30.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.59 ZAR9.91	-50.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.60 ZAR10.16	-56.3%
Average			-31.2%

Manila vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Manila	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$4.92 ZAR83.33	+17.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$56.18 ZAR950.86	+308.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$21,394.82 ZAR362,135.06	-15.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$9.34 ZAR158.05	+219.3%
Average			+132.5%

Manila vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.8% more for housing

	Manila	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$39.36 ZAR666.17	+45.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$404.16 ZAR6,840.92	-21.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$361.59 ZAR6,120.39	+43.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$88.13 ZAR1,491.68	-12.3%
Average			+13.8%

Manila vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 25.8% less for childcare

	Manila	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$173.48 ZAR2,936.29	+25.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$3,962.11 ZAR67,063.83	-76.7%
Average			-25.8%

Manila vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$2.18 ZAR36.86	+48.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$2.05 ZAR34.68	-20.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$2.96 ZAR50.17	-9.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$30.26 ZAR512.21	-28.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$6.85 ZAR115.92	-8.5%
Average			-3.6%

Manila vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.6% more for clothing

	Manila	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$50.74 ZAR858.89	+3.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$32.75 ZAR554.38	+10.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$94.19 ZAR1,594.31	+16.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$81.80 ZAR1,384.49	+64.6%
Average			+23.6%

Manila vs. South Africa - 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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