Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 55.9% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 38.5% more in South Korea
Groceries: pay 59.5% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in South Korea
Housing: pay 11.5% more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 80.8% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.4% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 50.9% more in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.5% more for restaurants

	Manila	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$6.72 ₩9,907	+11.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$5.50 ₩8,102	+27.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$1.47 ₩2,161	+50.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.82 ₩1,216	+63.8%
Average			+38.5%

Manila vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.5% more for groceries

	Manila	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$2.87 ₩4,235	+115.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$5.63 ₩8,290	+31.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$7.67 ₩11,311	+4.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.84 ₩4,180	+28.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$3.34 ₩4,917	+46.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$3.24 ₩4,768	+113.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$1.39 ₩2,045	+68.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$2.80 ₩4,121	+70.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$2.40 ₩3,543	+134.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$1.78 ₩2,627	+52.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$1.20 ₩1,775	-12.4%
Average			+59.5%

Manila vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Manila	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$4.40 ₩6,485	+5.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$47.17 ₩69,524	+242.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	+4.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$8.33 ₩12,280	+184.9%
Average			+109.4%

Manila vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.5% more for housing

	Manila	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$21.68 ₩31,958	-20.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$473.91 ₩698,442	-7.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$357.19 ₩526,420	+41.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$132.53 ₩195,326	+31.9%
Average			+11.5%

Manila vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 80.8% more for childcare

	Manila	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$378.52 ₩557,869	+173.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	-11.6%
Average			+80.8%

Manila vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$3.12 ₩4,595	+113.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$3.57 ₩5,258	+37.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$3.18 ₩4,693	-2.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$49.86 ₩73,483	+18.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$10.12 ₩14,912	+35.2%
Average			+40.4%

Manila vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 50.9% more for clothing

	Manila	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$66.46 ₩97,948	+35.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$50.68 ₩74,697	+70.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$72.74 ₩107,204	-10.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$103.23 ₩152,146	+107.7%
Average			+50.9%

Manila vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Manila vs.

Singapore

Manila vs.

Prague

Manila vs.

Athens

Manila vs.

Delhi

Manila vs.

Beijing

Manila vs.

London

Manila vs.

Lima

Manila vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Philippines vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Philippines and South Korea.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Manila

Add prices for South Korea

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Korea or Manila. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.