Cost of living comparison

Kenya

compared to

Philippines

Manila vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 10.2% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 9.9% less in Manila
Groceries: pay 50.5% more in Manila
Transportation: pay 42.8% less in Manila
Housing: pay 32.9% more in Manila
Childcare: pay 34.4% more in Manila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.1% less in Manila
Clothing: pay 20.6% more in Manila

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

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Manila vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

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pay 9.9% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.16 KES800.43	$5.58 ₱352.09	-9.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.54 KES850.46	$3.98 ₱251.49	-39.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.64 KES83.62	$1.40 ₱88.53	+118.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 KES76.71	$0.85 ₱53.41	+43.4%
Average			-9.9%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.5% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Manila
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES71.30	$1.44 ₱91.10	+163.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 KES691.76	$3.89 ₱245.21	-27.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.32 KES430.82	$7.23 ₱456.39	+118.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 KES224.35	$2.28 ₱143.97	+32.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.90 KES376.50	$2.18 ₱137.75	-24.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 KES197.76	$1.49 ₱94.00	-2.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.17	$0.85 ₱53.59	+74.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 KES118.28	$1.36 ₱85.92	+49.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 KES66.06	$0.83 ₱52.07	+62.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES64.02	$1.03 ₱65.09	+109.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.28	$1.20 ₱75.86	+146.8%
Average			+50.5%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.8% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.96 KES775.00	$4.96 ₱312.79	-16.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.20 KES6,003.23	$12.75 ₱804.78	-72.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,558.36 KES3M	$21,359.52 ₱1M	-0.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.86 KES1,800.97	$2.54 ₱160.45	-81.7%
Average			-42.8%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.9% more for housing

	Nairobi	Manila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.94 KES4,540.91	$24.14 ₱1,523.71	-30.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$445.43 KES57,884.12	$543.82 ₱34,320.32	+22.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$216.55 KES28,140.16	$281.50 ₱17,765.42	+30.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.75 KES5,555.61	$94.04 ₱5,935.14	+120.0%
Average			+32.9%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of housing

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pay 34.4% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$248.58 KES32,303.11	$619.65 ₱39,106.20	+149.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,318.78 KES2M	$8,932.60 ₱564K	-27.5%
Average			+34.4%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES300.16	$1.20 ₱75.45	-48.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.64 KES343.52	$2.55 ₱160.96	-3.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.54 KES460.25	$3.11 ₱196.16	-12.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.37 KES6,545.19	$42.86 ₱2,705.05	-14.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.70 KES1,000.54	$6.77 ₱427.54	-12.0%
Average			-20.1%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.6% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Manila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.10 KES3,651.97	$58.27 ₱3,677.38	+107.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.04 KES3,774.21	$27.47 ₱1,733.91	-5.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.92 KES9,086.71	$76.69 ₱4,839.72	+9.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.58 KES7,612.76	$57.51 ₱3,629.73	-1.8%
Average			+20.6%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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