Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Manila

For one person, living is cheaper in Manila: $943 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Manila
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Manila Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Manila

🇵🇭 Philippines

$943

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town 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 Cape Town and in Manila actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $948 in Manila, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Manila $948

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $1,508 in Manila, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Manila $1,508

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $2,068 in Manila, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Manila $2,068

Cape Town costs about 69% more than Manila, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Manila is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$5.54 ₱349

117.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$27.42 ₱1,726

70.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$3.96 ₱249

56.57%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$2.47 ₱156

1.21%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$1.38 ₱86.9

-2.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.83 ₱52.2

20.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$1.17 ₱73.7

161.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$2.34 ₱147

56.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$1.88 ₱118

-30.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$1.43 ₱89.8

-11.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$0.97 ₱61.4

123.71%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$2.29 ₱144

34.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$7.53 ₱474

19.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$4.75 ₱299

47.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$6.77 ₱427

42.84%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$3.35 ₱211

-44.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$1.84 ₱116

4.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$3.02 ₱190

-41.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$1.83 ₱115

19.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$2.23 ₱140

-31.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$2.59 ₱163

-39.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$2.10 ₱132

-37.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.59 ₱37.23

94.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.12 ₱197

19.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$9.49 ₱598

-36.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$1.31 ₱82.7

2.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$2.01 ₱127

5.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$0.46 ₱29.22

236.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

$12.78 ₱805

379.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$0.77 ₱48.39

-22.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$0.23 ₱14.50

569.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$1.85 ₱117

170.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$1.29 ₱81.0

24.03%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$21.6K ₱1.4M

63.97%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

78.15%

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

$119 R 1,955

$125 ₱7,851

-4.86%

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

$29.42 R 485

$15.84 ₱997

85.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$24.01 ₱1,511

65.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$41.84 ₱2,634

21.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

$5.89 ₱371

85.57%

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$6.62 ₱417

35.80%

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

$261 R 4,303

$612 ₱38.6K

-57.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$8,736 ₱550.0K

-20.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$58.1 ₱3,655

-3.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$27.80 ₱1,750

19.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$76.9 ₱4,840

57.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$56.5 ₱3,556

91.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$538 ₱33.9K

91.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$285 ₱17.9K

152.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$1,933 ₱121.7K

-5.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$662 ₱41.7K

105.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

$4,397 ₱276.8K

-45.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

$2,461 ₱154.9K

-38.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

$478 ₱30.1K

245.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

7.43

47.64%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Manila: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Manila

$285 30.2% 60.5% $435

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Manila

$219 23.2% 3.3% $7.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Manila

$165 17.4% 12.4% $23

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Manila

$105 11.2% 40.6% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Manila

$99 10.5% 31.2% $45

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Manila

$17 1.8% 78.1% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Manila

$55 5.8% 19.9% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $536 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 253% higher in Cape Town, 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 Cape Town versus $27.00 in Manila. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $222 – making Manila the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇭 Manila

🕒 Local time

11:59 11:59 AM

17:59 5:59 PM

6 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,780,148 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Manila 12,050 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
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

Cape Town vs Manila: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 69% more than Manila, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $1,422 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,599 in Cape Town and $948 in Manila. That's a gap of about 69%.

Public transport costs about 388% less in Manila. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Manila, where all-in costs run around $948, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Manila it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Manila costs $948 versus $1,599 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.