Manila vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Manila	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$766	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2308	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$361	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$961	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$287	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$49.2	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$526	$2911
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	73	100
😀 Quality of life	65	95
🏙️ Population	1.85M	9.67M

The cost of living in Manila is 43% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 6586th and 4104th ($766 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 5th and 3rd in the Philippines and South Korea, respectively. Check the Philippines vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Manila compared to 2.2 months in Seoul. Manila ranked 3rd best city to live in the Philippines vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 4165th and 30th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Manila vs Seoul infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/manila/seoul.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Manila vs Seoul infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/manila/seoul" target="_blank">Manila vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Manila vs Seoul

Prices for goods and services in Manila and Seoul are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Manila	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$4.69	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$24.4	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.25	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.02	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$2.73	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.84	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$412	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$220	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1498	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$648	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$73.8	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$115	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$28.1	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	7.42%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3093	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2849	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.52	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$12.4	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$3.85	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.09	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.04	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.25	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.01	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.14	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.06	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.09	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.81	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.97	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.33	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.34	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.66	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.23	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.47	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.68	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.79	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.45	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.1	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.47	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.22	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.77	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.67	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$37.7	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.39	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$5.64	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$36	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$74.8	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$444	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13387	$20197

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Manila

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.7 km or 3.5 mi	Pasay	$770
6.1 km or 3.8 mi	Caloocan	$640
6.2 km or 3.9 mi	Mandaluyong	$746
7.3 km or 4.6 mi	Quezon	$706
7.7 km or 4.8 mi	Malabon	$623
7.9 km or 4.9 mi	Makati	$901
8.8 km or 5.4 mi	Navotas	$732
12 km or 7.2 mi	Valenzuela	$506
12 km or 7.2 mi	Pasig	$670
12 km or 7.3 mi	Taguig	$780
15 km or 9 mi	Marikina	$546
15 km or 9.3 mi	Bacoor	$538
15 km or 9.3 mi	Paranaque	$621
15 km or 9.5 mi	Cainta	$704
16 km or 9.7 mi	Meycauayan	$577
16 km or 10 mi	Las Pinas	$589
19 km or 12 mi	Imus	$518
21 km or 13 mi	Antipolo	$535
25 km or 15 mi	Muntinlupa	$676
25 km or 16 mi	San Jose del Monte	$496
26 km or 16 mi	General Trias	$457
28 km or 17 mi	San Pedro	$575
28 km or 17 mi	Binangonan	$487
30 km or 19 mi	Dasmarinas	$400
31 km or 19 mi	Binan	$539
33 km or 20 mi	Malolos	$572
34 km or 21 mi	Santa Rosa	$508
37 km or 23 mi	Trece Martires	$515
39 km or 24 mi	Cabuyao	$545
47 km or 29 mi	Calamba	$486
58 km or 36 mi	San Fernando	$610
60 km or 37 mi	Tanauan	$508
61 km or 38 mi	Santo Tomas	$504
69 km or 43 mi	San Pablo	$427
74 km or 46 mi	Angeles	$613
75 km or 47 mi	Lipa	$398
79 km or 49 mi	Olongapo	$464
81 km or 50 mi	Mabalacat	$585
94 km or 59 mi	Batangas	$508
99 km or 61 mi	Cabanatuan	$372

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1122
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1171
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1161
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1129
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1400
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1283
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1163
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1022
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$974
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1098
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1099
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1165
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1075
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1070
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1022
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1092
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1040
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1127
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1089
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1042
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1020
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1565
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1026
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$984
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1026
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$865
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1033
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1074
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1151
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1036
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$900
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$936
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1016
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1550
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1019