Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Philippines

Manila vs. Pretoria Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 13.4% cheaper than Pretoria.

Restaurants: pay 25.6% less in Manila
Groceries: pay 38.0% more in Manila
Transportation: pay 61.6% less in Manila
Housing: pay 11.8% less in Manila
Childcare: pay 64.7% more in Manila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.8% less in Manila
Clothing: pay 14.0% less in Manila

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

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Manila vs. Pretoria Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.6% less for restaurants

	Pretoria	Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.01 ZAR148.66	$5.58 ₱351.45	-38.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.41 ZAR89.20	$3.98 ₱251.03	-26.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.48	$1.40 ₱88.36	+32.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ZAR14.04	$0.85 ₱53.31	-0.6%
Average			-25.6%

Pretoria vs. Manila - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.0% more for groceries

	Pretoria	Manila
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 ZAR18.21	$1.44 ₱90.93	+30.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.18 ZAR68.94	$3.89 ₱244.77	-7.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.45 ZAR73.36	$7.23 ₱455.56	+62.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 ZAR40.74	$2.28 ₱143.70	-7.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.23 ZAR36.86	$2.18 ₱137.50	-2.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.10	$1.49 ₱93.83	+87.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.22	$0.85 ₱53.49	+14.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.11	$1.36 ₱85.76	+71.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR11.92	$0.83 ₱51.97	+14.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZAR8.18	$1.03 ₱64.97	+107.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 ZAR8.93	$1.20 ₱75.72	+121.9%
Average			+38.0%

Pretoria vs. Manila - Cost of groceries

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pay 61.6% less for transportation

	Pretoria	Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 ZAR94.81	$4.96 ₱312.22	-13.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$177.56 ZAR2,928.68	$12.75 ₱803.31	-92.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$21,359.52 ₱1M	-39.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.55 ZAR108.03	$2.54 ₱160.16	-61.2%
Average			-61.6%

Pretoria vs. Manila - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.8% less for housing

	Pretoria	Manila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.83 ZAR607.50	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	-34.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$454.27 ZAR7,492.67	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	+19.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$405.14 ZAR6,682.45	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	-30.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.49 ZAR1,904.94	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	-18.6%
Average			-11.8%

Pretoria vs. Manila - Cost of housing

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pay 64.7% more for childcare

	Pretoria	Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$260.78 ZAR4,301.35	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	+137.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,821.75 ZAR129K	$8,932.60 ₱563K	+14.2%
Average			+64.7%

Pretoria vs. Manila - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Pretoria	Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.55 ZAR42.12	$1.20 ₱75.31	-53.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.17	$2.55 ₱160.66	+13.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.25 ZAR53.60	$3.11 ₱195.81	-4.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.49 ZAR519.46	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	+36.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$6.77 ₱426.76	-6.0%
Average			-6.8%

Pretoria vs. Manila - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.0% less for clothing

	Pretoria	Manila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.03 ZAR874.71	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	+9.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.00 ZAR527.89	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	-14.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.85 ZAR1,515.02	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	-16.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.87 ZAR1,366.87	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	-30.6%
Average			-14.0%

Pretoria 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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