Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

China

China vs. Philippines Cost of Living Summary

China is 8.5% more expensive than Philippines overall.

Restaurants: pay 1.2% more in China
Groceries: pay 19.2% less in China
Transportation: pay 18.0% more in China
Housing: pay 3.7% more in China
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.0% more in China
Clothing: pay 28.5% more in China

The cost of childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, and restaurants in China are more expensive than in Philippines. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in China.

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China vs. Philippines Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Philippines, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 1.2% more for restaurants

	Philippines	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.66 ₱230.84	$3.02 CN¥20.13	-17.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.23 ₱203.62	$5.16 CN¥34.44	+59.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 ₱45.82	$0.51 CN¥3.38	-30.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 ₱25.11	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-25.9%
Average			+1.2%

Philippines vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.2% less for groceries

	Philippines	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.15 ₱72.83	$1.66 CN¥11.07	+43.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.30 ₱208.43	$6.71 CN¥44.78	+103.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.50 ₱410.26	$6.65 CN¥44.42	+2.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.97 ₱124.35	$1.57 CN¥10.45	-20.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.82 ₱114.65	$1.52 CN¥10.12	-16.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.27 ₱80.18	$0.83 CN¥5.54	-34.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 ₱40.12	$0.59 CN¥3.91	-7.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.14 ₱72.24	$0.67 CN¥4.45	-41.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 ₱37.90	$0.58 CN¥3.89	-2.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 ₱57.31	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-64.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 ₱63.80	$0.40 CN¥2.67	-60.5%
Average			-19.2%

Philippines vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.0% more for transportation

	Philippines	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.37 ₱275.62	$4.77 CN¥31.85	+9.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.98 ₱818.95	$20.77 CN¥138.66	+60.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,989.85 ₱1M	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-10.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.59 ₱163.38	$4.24 CN¥28.33	+63.9%
Average			+18.0%

Philippines vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.7% more for housing

	Philippines	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.62 ₱1,616.63	$11.27 CN¥75.24	-56.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$267.48 ₱16,880.68	$336.09 CN¥2,243.47	+25.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$170.01 ₱10,729.12	$212.64 CN¥1,419.40	+25.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$85.57 ₱5,400.45	$42.92 CN¥286.47	-49.8%
Average			+3.7%

Philippines vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Philippines	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.60 ₱10,261.73	$500.54 CN¥3,341.13	+207.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,174.58 ₱453K	$18,908.16 CN¥126K	+163.5%
Average			+184.8%

Philippines vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Philippines	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.24 ₱78.14	$1.12 CN¥7.50	-9.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.15 ₱135.76	$2.84 CN¥18.96	+32.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.72 ₱171.53	$3.71 CN¥24.73	+36.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.00 ₱1,893.44	$41.75 CN¥278.71	+39.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.33 ₱336.60	$6.28 CN¥41.90	+17.7%
Average			+21.0%

Philippines vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.5% more for clothing

	Philippines	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.72 ₱2,380.48	$46.40 CN¥309.70	+23.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.70 ₱1,432.78	$33.97 CN¥226.76	+49.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.85 ₱4,345.19	$73.79 CN¥492.56	+7.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.10 ₱3,603.76	$78.93 CN¥526.86	+38.2%
Average			+28.5%

Philippines vs. China - 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

Compare further: Philippines vs. China

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in China?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Make 3.3 times more money in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Philippines is about 32 times smaller than China.

Moving from Philippines to China · UN DESA 2020

56,657 people born in Philippines live in China.

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