Cost of living comparison

compared to

Manila vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 20.4% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants
pay 20.3% less in Manila
Groceries
pay 44.1% more in Manila
Transportation
pay 33.5% less in Manila
Housing
pay 57.6% less in Manila
Childcare
pay 18.3% more in Manila
Entertainment and Sports
pay 53.8% less in Manila
Clothing
pay 40.3% less in Manila

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

Manila vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Manila instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:

pay 20.3% less for restaurants

 
United Arab Emirates
Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $7.91
AED29.06
$6.02
₱355.03
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.65
AED31.75
$4.30
₱253.60
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.04
AED3.83
$0.97
₱57.27

Improve prices ·

pay 44.1% more for groceries

 
United Arab Emirates
Manila
Bread
1 loaf
$1.47
AED5.39
$1.33
₱78.64
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.36
AED19.68
$4.28
₱252.12
Milk (1 gallon) $6.96
AED25.56
$7.32
₱431.63

Improve prices ·

pay 33.5% less for transportation

 
United Arab Emirates
Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.91
AED10.69
$4.18
₱246.46
Monthly public transit pass $53.10
AED195.00
$13.76
₱811.51
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $40,680.12
AED149,397.75
$25,288.58
₱1,491,141.28

Improve prices ·

pay 57.6% less for housing

 
United Arab Emirates
Manila
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$101.41
AED372.42
$27.10
₱1,598.07
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,438.18
AED5,281.71
$512.96
₱30,246.98
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $990.79
AED3,638.67
$251.74
₱14,843.72

Improve prices ·

pay 18.3% more for childcare

 
United Arab Emirates
Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $497.28
AED1,826.25
$138.58
₱8,171.41
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,164.49
AED29,984.10
$17,035.39
₱1,004,491.60

Improve prices ·

pay 53.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
United Arab Emirates
Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $10.43
AED38.31
$1.46
₱86.22
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.99
AED18.32
$2.59
₱152.56
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.23
AED22.88
$3.27
₱192.73

Improve prices ·

pay 40.3% less for clothing

 
United Arab Emirates
Manila
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$75.04
AED275.58
$49.23
₱2,902.69
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$59.50
AED218.51
$29.70
₱1,751.10
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$105.66
AED388.03
$80.85
₱4,767.52

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. Philippines. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Arab Emirates and Philippines.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Manila or United Arab Emirates. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.