Cost of living comparison

compared to

Taichung vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Taichung is 44.5% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 17.8% more in Taichung
Groceries: pay 35.9% more in Taichung
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Taichung
Housing: pay 13.6% less in Taichung
Childcare: pay 87.0% more in Taichung
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.7% more in Taichung
Clothing: pay 59.6% more in Taichung

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

Taichung vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 17.8% more for restaurants

	Manila	Taichung
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$4.92 NT$153.80	-18.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$5.23 NT$163.55	+21.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$1.08 NT$33.84	+11.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$0.79 NT$24.69	+56.7%
Average			+17.8%

Manila vs. Taichung - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.9% more for groceries

	Manila	Taichung
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$1.69 NT$52.98	+27.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$15.02 NT$469.96	+251.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$13.37 NT$418.22	+82.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.82 NT$88.18	+27.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$3.63 NT$113.67	+59.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$2.03 NT$63.56	+34.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.78 NT$24.47	-4.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$0.98 NT$30.70	-40.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$1.51 NT$47.36	+47.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$0.58 NT$18.02	-50.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$0.84 NT$26.32	-38.8%
Average			+35.9%

Manila vs. Taichung - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Manila	Taichung
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$3.78 NT$118.32	-9.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$27.84 NT$871.05	+102.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$34,999.18 NT$1,095,089.33	+38.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$11.96 NT$374.26	+309.0%
Average			+110.0%

Manila vs. Taichung - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.6% less for housing

	Manila	Taichung
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$22.70 NT$710.28	-16.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$344.30 NT$10,772.74	-32.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$301.96 NT$9,448.00	+19.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$75.27 NT$2,355.03	-25.1%
Average			-13.6%

Manila vs. Taichung - Cost of housing

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pay 87.0% more for childcare

	Manila	Taichung
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$355.02 NT$11,108.12	+156.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$20,072.09 NT$628,035.78	+17.8%
Average			+87.0%

Manila vs. Taichung - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Taichung
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$1.67 NT$52.29	+14.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$3.02 NT$94.42	+16.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$3.93 NT$123.04	+20.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$34.17 NT$1,069.16	-18.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$10.57 NT$330.68	+41.2%
Average			+14.7%

Manila vs. Taichung - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 59.6% more for clothing

	Manila	Taichung
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$81.88 NT$2,561.95	+66.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$36.00 NT$1,126.44	+21.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$83.84 NT$2,623.22	+3.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$122.89 NT$3,845.12	+147.3%
Average			+59.6%

Manila vs. Taichung - 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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