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Cost of Living Comparison Between Manila and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Manila and Cape Town

🙂 Solo nomad: Manila is 12.4% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 23.8% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Manila is 17.1% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 21.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$5.18 ₱303
$11.02 R 189
-52.99%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$26.32 ₱1,542
$45.49 R 779
-42.14%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.42 ₱259
$4.99 R 85.5
-11.42%
Cappuccino
$2.66 ₱156
$2.08 R 35.69
27.88%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.92 ₱53.6
$1.1 R 18.81
-16.36%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.54 ₱31.73
$0.88 R 15.08
-38.64%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.48 ₱86.7
$2.76 R 47.32
-46.38%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.72 ₱159
$2.49 R 42.59
9.24%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.89 ₱110
$1.11 R 19.04
70.27%
White Bread (500g)
$1.38 ₱80.9
$1.05 R 17.96
31.43%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.07 ₱62.8
$1.85 R 31.75
-42.16%
Eggs
$2.06 ₱121
$2.4 R 41.14
-14.17%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.22 ₱540
$8.4 R 144
9.76%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.33 ₱312
$5.33 R 91.3
-
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$8.72 ₱511
$7.63 R 131
14.29%
Apples (1kg)
$3.51 ₱206
$1.57 R 26.94
123.57%
Banana (1kg)
$1.82 ₱107
$1.48 R 25.41
22.97%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.6 ₱211
$1.46 R 25.01
146.58%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.39 ₱140
$1.59 R 27.3
50.31%
Potato (1kg)
$2.73 ₱160
$1.09 R 18.63
150.46%
Onion (1kg)
$3.04 ₱178
$1.23 R 21.11
147.15%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.02 ₱119
$1.08 R 18.52
87.04%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.64 ₱37.5
$1 R 17.09
-36.00%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.44 ₱201
$3.14 R 53.7
9.55%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.24 ₱542
$5.65 R 96.7
63.54%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.51 ₱88.6
$1.35 R 23.1
11.85%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.1 ₱123
$1.67 R 28.64
25.75%
🚌 Getting Around
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 ₱30.26
$0.99 R 16.93
-47.47%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$11.91 ₱697
$47.86 R 819
-75.11%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.92 ₱54
$1.43 R 24.55
-35.66%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.27 ₱15.96
$0.99 R 16.99
-72.73%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.08 ₱122
$4.38 R 75.1
-52.51%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.17 ₱68.4
$1.24 R 21.19
-5.65%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.1K ₱1.5M
$21K R 359.8K
24.12%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$22.6K ₱1.3M
$23.9K R 409.4K
-5.70%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$134 ₱7,832
$97.8 R 1,675
36.67%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$21.92 ₱1,284
$33.51 R 574
-34.59%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.06 ₱1,585
$41.97 R 718
-35.53%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.81 ₱2,449
$41.72 R 714
0.22%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.83 ₱400
$8.03 R 137
-14.94%
Cinema Ticket
$6.77 ₱396
$6.77 R 116
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$361 ₱21.1K
$214 R 3,663
68.55%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.2K ₱658.1K
$5,349 R 91.6K
110.03%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$46.54 ₱2,727
$55.7 R 953
-16.39%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.68 ₱2,032
$33.21 R 568
4.43%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$82 ₱4,805
$114 R 1,944
-27.75%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$46.37 ₱2,716
$85.8 R 1,468
-45.94%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$498 ₱29.2K
$743 R 12.7K
-32.92%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$271 ₱15.9K
$524 R 8,975
-48.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,719 ₱100.7K
$1,447 R 24.8K
18.77%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$639 ₱37.4K
$1,028 R 17.6K
-37.80%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,712 ₱217.5K
$1,935 R 33.1K
91.83%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,388 ₱139.9K
$1,299 R 22.2K
83.75%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$485 ₱28.4K
$1,665 R 28.5K
-70.87%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.52
11.77
-36.11%

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

Last update for Manila: November 25, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: November 24, 2025

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