Cost of living comparison

compared to

Xiamen vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Xiamen is 7.3% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 27.6% less in Xiamen
Groceries: pay 23.6% less in Xiamen
Transportation: pay 5.6% less in Xiamen
Housing: pay 41.2% less in Xiamen
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Xiamen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.6% more in Xiamen
Clothing: pay 12.0% more in Xiamen

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

Xiamen vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.6% less for restaurants

	Manila	Xiamen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.94	$2.80 CN¥19.78	-53.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱254.24	$5.61 CN¥39.56	+30.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.42	$0.50 CN¥3.51	-48.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.77	$0.31 CN¥2.18	-38.5%
Average			-27.6%

Manila vs. Xiamen - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.6% less for groceries

	Manila	Xiamen
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.84	$2.13 CN¥15.03	+59.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.76	$5.61 CN¥39.56	+31.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.73	$5.93 CN¥41.81	-19.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.84	$1.37 CN¥9.64	-38.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.98	$1.06 CN¥7.48	-53.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.60	$1.02 CN¥7.18	-32.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.61	$0.62 CN¥4.37	-24.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.75	$0.70 CN¥4.94	-57.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.52	$0.86 CN¥6.05	-16.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.16	$0.42 CN¥2.99	-63.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.25	$0.76 CN¥5.39	-44.4%
Average			-23.6%

Manila vs. Xiamen - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.6% less for transportation

	Manila	Xiamen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱247.09	$4.42 CN¥31.20	+5.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱813.57	$11.22 CN¥79.12	-18.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,494,934.54	$16,599.37 CN¥117,100.27	-34.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.88	$3.65 CN¥25.71	+24.6%
Average			-5.6%

Manila vs. Xiamen - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.2% less for housing

	Manila	Xiamen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,602.13	$9.76 CN¥68.84	-64.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,323.92	$342.70 CN¥2,417.61	-33.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,881.48	$258.59 CN¥1,824.20	+2.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,940.52	$29.95 CN¥211.29	-70.2%
Average			-41.2%

Manila vs. Xiamen - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Manila	Xiamen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,192.20	$461.48 CN¥3,255.53	+233.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,007,046.89	$22,431.58 CN¥158,243.61	+31.7%
Average			+132.3%

Manila vs. Xiamen - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Xiamen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.44	$1.40 CN¥9.89	-4.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.95	$2.82 CN¥19.86	+8.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱193.22	$2.80 CN¥19.78	-14.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,490.71	$44.68 CN¥315.17	+6.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱442.38	$9.46 CN¥66.76	+26.5%
Average			+4.6%

Manila vs. Xiamen - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.0% more for clothing

	Manila	Xiamen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,910.08	$43.43 CN¥306.40	-11.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,755.55	$27.20 CN¥191.87	-8.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,779.65	$85.52 CN¥603.30	+5.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,937.78	$80.61 CN¥568.69	+62.2%
Average			+12.0%

Manila vs. Xiamen - 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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