Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bansko and Manila

For one person, living costs are similar in Bansko and in Manila: $970 and $931 a month, rent and utilities included.

47

Cost of Living Index in Bansko
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Bansko Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Manila
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Manila Living Index

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Bansko

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$970

/mo nomad

Manila

🇵🇭 Philippines

$931

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bansko and in Manila

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bansko and in Manila actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $970 per month in Bansko vs $931 in Manila, rent included.

Bansko $970
Manila $931

A couple spends around $1,464 per month in Bansko vs $1,519 in Manila, rent included.

Bansko $1,464
Manila $1,519

A family of three spends $1,957 per month in Bansko vs $2,106 in Manila, rent included.

Bansko $1,957
Manila $2,106

Bansko costs about 4% more than Manila, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Bansko and Manila are more affordable than the global median – Bansko 28% lower, Manila 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.66 BGN 15.15

$5.61 ₱352

54.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.63 BGN 81.6

$27.39 ₱1,718

70.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.01 BGN 15.77

$3.95 ₱248

128.10%

Cappuccino

$2.24 BGN 3.92

$2.56 ₱161

-12.50%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 BGN 2.63

$1.42 ₱89.1

5.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 BGN 1.51

$0.81 ₱50.9

6.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 BGN 3.07

$1.17 ₱73.2

50.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 BGN 3.51

$2.36 ₱148

-15.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 BGN 3.14

$1.94 ₱122

-7.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.81 BGN 1.42

$1.40 ₱88.0

-42.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 BGN 2.66

$1.02 ₱64.2

49.02%

Eggs

$2.30 BGN 4.02

$2.29 ₱144

0.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.60 BGN 16.81

$7.86 ₱493

22.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.32 BGN 11.06

$4.89 ₱307

29.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.64 BGN 15.12

$6.77 ₱425

27.62%

Apples (1kg)

$1.28 BGN 2.24

$3.38 ₱212

-62.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 BGN 2.95

$1.85 ₱116

-9.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 BGN 2.98

$2.96 ₱186

-42.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.89 BGN 3.30

$1.79 ₱112

5.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 BGN 1.63

$2.24 ₱140

-58.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 BGN 1.32

$2.69 ₱168

-71.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 BGN 0.95

$2.20 ₱138

-75.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 BGN 1.02

$0.59 ₱37.25

-1.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.44 BGN 6.02

$3.13 ₱196

9.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.14 BGN 9.00

$9.42 ₱591

-45.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 BGN 1.94

$1.33 ₱83.3

-16.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 BGN 2.97

$2.00 ₱125

-15.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 BGN 1.55

$0.47 ₱29.46

87.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.76 BGN 46.83

$12.58 ₱789

112.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 BGN 2.26

$0.78 ₱48.77

65.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 BGN 1.14

$0.23 ₱14.43

182.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.18 BGN 17.81

$1.94 ₱122

424.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 BGN 2.63

$1.33 ₱83.5

12.78%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.8K BGN 50.4K

$21.3K ₱1.3M

35.01%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$21.5K BGN 37.5K

$19.7K ₱1.2M

8.97%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$91.4 BGN 160

$121 ₱7,614

-24.68%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.68 BGN 25.68

$16.04 ₱1,006

-8.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.07 BGN 21.12

$24.25 ₱1,521

-50.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.28 BGN 56.5

$43.44 ₱2,724

-25.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.60 BGN 15.05

$5.90 ₱370

45.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.63 BGN 9.86

$6.63 ₱416

-15.08%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$228 BGN 400

$613 ₱38.4K

-62.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,311 BGN 4,045

$8,953 ₱561.6K

-74.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.48 BGN 53.3

$58.2 ₱3,647

-47.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.01 BGN 33.26

$27.18 ₱1,704

-30.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.53 BGN 79.7

$77.5 ₱4,862

-41.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$48.67 BGN 85.2

$57.0 ₱3,574

-14.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$521 BGN 913

$534 ₱33.5K

-2.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$367 BGN 643

$287 ₱18.0K

28.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$634 BGN 1,110

$1,916 ₱120.2K

-66.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$558 BGN 976

$677 ₱42.5K

-17.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,204 BGN 2,106

$4,439 ₱278.4K

-72.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$971 BGN 1,699

$2,556 ₱160.3K

-62.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,670 BGN 2,923

$485 ₱30.4K

244.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

7.43

-59.76%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bansko: October 6, 2026

Last update for Manila: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Bansko

$367 38%

Manila

$287 30.2% 21.9% $80

Groceries & Markets

Bansko

$193 20%

Manila

$221 23.3% 14.6% $28

Eating Out

Bansko

$145 15%

Manila

$107 11.3% 26.5% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bansko

$118 12.2%

Manila

$162 17% 36.8% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Bansko

$65 6.7%

Manila

$99 10.4% 53% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Bansko

$44 4.5%

Manila

$57 6% 30.2% $13

Getting Around

Bansko

$35 3.6%

Manila

$16 1.7% 53% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $521 in Bansko versus $534 in Manila. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 244% higher in Bansko, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Bansko versus $27.00 in Manila. Groceries tell a different story – $193 in Bansko vs $221 in Manila – so Bansko wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Bansko

🇵🇭 Manila

🕒 Local time

14:14 2:14 PM

19:14 7:14 PM

5 h ahead of Bansko

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

1,780,148 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.51 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.28 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bansko Manila 9,540 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bansko
Manila

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bansko vs Manila: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $970 in Bansko, $931 in Manila – roughly 4% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,455 per month in Bansko and $1,396 in Manila. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Manila, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Bansko and $27.00 in Manila. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $970 in Bansko and $931 in Manila. That's a gap of about 4%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Manila, where all-in costs run around $931, than in Bansko at $970. In Manila it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bansko it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Manila has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $931 in Manila to $970 in Bansko. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Manila. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bansko makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.