Manila vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Manila	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$829	$526
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1997	$1270
🏠 One person rent	$420	$226
🏘️ Family rent	$709	$370
🍽️ Food expenses	$284	$222
🚐 Transport expenses	$47.7	$22.1
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$259	$181
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	77	1
😀 Quality of life	64	30
🏙️ Population	1.9M	63.4K

The cost of living in Manila is 58% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 6643rd and 8528th ($829 vs $526) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 2nd in the Philippines and Kiribati, respectively. Check the Philippines vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Manila compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Manila ranked 2nd best city to live in the Philippines vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 5317th and 8796th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Manila vs South Tarawa

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

	Manila	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$5.72	$3.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$27.8	$21.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.12	$5.11
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.42	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$2.57	$1.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.27	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$512	$214
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$274	$146
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$931	$385
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$483	$256
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$73.8	$41.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$112	$63.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$24.4	$25.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	7.38%	12.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4395	$1342
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2588	$823
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.49	$0.38
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$13.2	$15.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$2.83	$7.19
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.22	$1.03
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.96	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.35	$0.74
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.04	$1.19
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.15	$1.7
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.94	$7.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.06	$4.45
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.19	$7.14
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.16	$2.34
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.88	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.07	$1.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.96	$1.14
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.33	$1.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.71	$1.03
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.39	$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.52	$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.85	$7.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.3	$1.42
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.13	$3.16
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.12	$3.85
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.98	$3.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.63	$1.51
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.57	$1.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$42.3	$23.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.94	$4.41
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$15	$18.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.28	$4.15
👖 Brand Jeans	$59.5	$31
👟 Brand Sneakers	$76.3	$65.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$184	$139
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$12450	$4506

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Manila

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.7 km or 3.5 mi	Pasay	$785
6.1 km or 3.8 mi	Caloocan	$555
6.2 km or 3.9 mi	Mandaluyong	$765
7.3 km or 4.6 mi	Quezon	$710
7.7 km or 4.8 mi	Malabon	$650
7.9 km or 4.9 mi	Makati	$998
8.8 km or 5.4 mi	Navotas	$725
12 km or 7.2 mi	Valenzuela	$485
12 km or 7.2 mi	Pasig	$588
12 km or 7.3 mi	Taguig	$885
15 km or 9 mi	Marikina	$581
15 km or 9.3 mi	Bacoor	$548
15 km or 9.3 mi	Paranaque	$671
15 km or 9.5 mi	Cainta	$693
16 km or 9.7 mi	Meycauayan	$602
16 km or 10 mi	Las Pinas	$584
19 km or 12 mi	Imus	$512
21 km or 13 mi	Antipolo	$517
25 km or 15 mi	Muntinlupa	$671
25 km or 16 mi	San Jose del Monte	$505
26 km or 16 mi	General Trias	$481
28 km or 17 mi	San Pedro	$598
28 km or 17 mi	Binangonan	$491
30 km or 19 mi	Dasmarinas	$410
31 km or 19 mi	Binan	$582
33 km or 20 mi	Malolos	$624
34 km or 21 mi	Santa Rosa	$521
37 km or 23 mi	Trece Martires	$528
39 km or 24 mi	Cabuyao	$576
47 km or 29 mi	Calamba	$498
58 km or 36 mi	San Fernando	$570
60 km or 37 mi	Tanauan	$538
61 km or 38 mi	Santo Tomas	$537
69 km or 43 mi	San Pablo	$461
74 km or 46 mi	Angeles	$614
75 km or 47 mi	Lipa	$420
79 km or 49 mi	Olongapo	$465
81 km or 50 mi	Mabalacat	$585
94 km or 59 mi	Batangas	$520
99 km or 61 mi	Cabanatuan	$413

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1499
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1497
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$788
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$714
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1491
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1502
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2020
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$680
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1095
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2036
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$910
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$891
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$789
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1844
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1851
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1911
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1032
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$546
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$562
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$526
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1435
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2409
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3243
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1851
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$492
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1643
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$2015
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1720
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1883
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1642
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2888
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1838
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1863
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1992
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2760
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2323
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2649