Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Johor Bahru and Mandaue

For one person, living is cheaper in Mandaue: $820 a month against $1,080 in Johor Bahru, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Johor Bahru
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Johor Bahru Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Mandaue
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Mandaue Living Index

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Johor Bahru

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,080

/mo nomad

Mandaue

🇵🇭 Philippines

$820

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Johor Bahru and in Mandaue

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,080 in Johor Bahru versus $820 in Mandaue.

Johor Bahru $1,080
Mandaue $820

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,611 in Johor Bahru versus $1,198 in Mandaue.

Johor Bahru $1,611
Mandaue $1,198

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,141 in Johor Bahru versus $1,575 in Mandaue.

Johor Bahru $2,141
Mandaue $1,575

Living in Johor Bahru is roughly 32% more expensive than in Mandaue, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Johor Bahru 21% lower, Mandaue 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.57 MYR 14.53

$3.97 ₱254

-10.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.54 MYR 75.5

$23.32 ₱1,493

-20.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 MYR 20.49

$3.94 ₱252

27.66%

Cappuccino

$3.00 MYR 12.21

$2.49 ₱160

20.48%

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

$0.85 MYR 3.45

$0.68 ₱43.30

25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.30

$0.46 ₱29.44

21.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.54 MYR 18.50

$1.74 ₱111

160.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 MYR 25.53

$2.14 ₱137

192.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MYR 6.92

$1.83 ₱117

-7.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 MYR 4.28

$1.17 ₱74.7

-10.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.77

$0.97 ₱62.3

46.39%

Eggs

$1.73 MYR 7.04

$1.92 ₱123

-9.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.23 MYR 74.3

$9.72 ₱622

87.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.57 MYR 18.62

$4.51 ₱289

1.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.51 MYR 42.80

$7.27 ₱465

44.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 MYR 13.38

$3.25 ₱208

0.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 MYR 7.09

$1.30 ₱83.4

33.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.91 MYR 15.94

$2.33 ₱149

67.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.68

$1.51 ₱96.4

8.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 MYR 5.73

$2.37 ₱152

-40.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 MYR 6.71

$1.84 ₱118

-10.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 MYR 5.56

$1.10 ₱70.5

24.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.26

$0.60 ₱38.24

-6.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.19 MYR 17.06

$2.33 ₱149

79.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.20 MYR 57.9

$6.24 ₱399

127.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 MYR 11.91

$1.26 ₱80.4

131.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 MYR 12.33

$1.65 ₱106

83.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 MYR 2.83

$0.23 ₱14.66

204.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.36 MYR 50.4

$13.58 ₱869

-8.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 MYR 3.84

$0.75 ₱48.23

25.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 MYR 3.07

$0.22 ₱14.10

240.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.95 MYR 40.54

$1.89 ₱121

426.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 MYR 3.37

$1.35 ₱86.4

-38.52%

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

$43.9K MYR 178.7K

$21.3K ₱1.4M

105.60%

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

$35.7K MYR 145.6K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

89.00%

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

$52.7 MYR 215

$96.8 ₱6,193

-45.57%

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

$11.01 MYR 44.86

$15.75 ₱1,008

-30.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.28 MYR 115

$27.65 ₱1,770

2.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.28 MYR 168

$31.29 ₱2,002

31.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.80 MYR 23.61

$4.53 ₱290

28.04%

Cinema Ticket

$4.81 MYR 19.61

$5.46 ₱349

-11.90%

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

$239 MYR 975

$131 ₱8,410

82.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,518 MYR 18.4K

$7,875 ₱504.0K

-42.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 MYR 222

$32.04 ₱2,051

70.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.53 MYR 67.3

$18.82 ₱1,204

-12.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.3 MYR 331

$74.8 ₱4,788

8.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.3 MYR 400

$57.1 ₱3,656

72.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$523 MYR 2,132

$426 ₱27.3K

22.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 MYR 1,693

$248 ₱15.9K

67.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 MYR 4,004

$730 ₱46.7K

34.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$707 MYR 2,881

$348 ₱22.3K

103.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,002 MYR 8,154

$2,283 ₱146.1K

-12.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,214 MYR 4,944

$1,272 ₱81.4K

-4.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,076 MYR 4,382

$231 ₱14.8K

364.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

7.2

-43.61%

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

Last update for Johor Bahru: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mandaue: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Johor Bahru

$416 38.5%

Mandaue

$248 30.2% 40.3% $168

Groceries & Markets

Johor Bahru

$269 24.9%

Mandaue

$200 24.4% 25.4% $68

Eating Out

Johor Bahru

$120 11.2%

Mandaue

$91 11.1% 24.5% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Johor Bahru

$113 10.4%

Mandaue

$82 10% 27.1% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Johor Bahru

$92 8.5%

Mandaue

$140 17.1% 52.4% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Johor Bahru

$51 4.7%

Mandaue

$42 5.1% 17.1% $8.7

Getting Around

Johor Bahru

$20 1.8%

Mandaue

$16 2% 17.7% $3.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $523 in Johor Bahru and $426 in Mandaue. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Johor Bahru pays about 4.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Johor Bahru vs $23 in Mandaue. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $200, with Mandaue cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Johor Bahru

🇵🇭 Mandaue

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

Same time as Johor Bahru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

858,118

364,116

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

100 PHP = 1.56 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.55 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 63.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.41 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Johor Bahru Mandaue 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Johor Bahru
Mandaue

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

Johor Bahru vs Mandaue: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,080 in Johor Bahru and $820 in Mandaue, so Mandaue is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Johor Bahru is about 4.6 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $523 in Johor Bahru versus $426 in Mandaue. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Johor Bahru – a meal for two runs $19 versus $23 in Mandaue. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,080 per month in Johor Bahru versus $820 in Mandaue – Mandaue is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Mandaue is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Mandaue is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Johor Bahru, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Johor Bahru and Mandaue are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Mandaue wins on affordability, Johor Bahru on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.