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

🙂 Solo nomad: Manila is 12.9% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 25.9% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Manila is 15.7% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 22.5% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$5.46 ₱319
$11.12 R 183
-50.90%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$27.09 ₱1,585
$44.86 R 739
-39.61%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.38 ₱256
$5.00 R 82.4
-12.40%
Cappuccino
$2.74 ₱160
$2.05 R 33.83
33.66%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.92 ₱53.5
$1.12 R 18.44
-17.86%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.54 ₱31.54
$0.81 R 13.36
-33.33%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.53 ₱89.2
$2.85 R 47.00
-46.32%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.69 ₱158
$2.58 R 42.44
4.26%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.90 ₱111
$1.15 R 19.01
65.22%
White Bread (500g)
$1.40 ₱81.7
$1.04 R 17.17
34.62%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.04 ₱61.1
$1.85 R 30.42
-43.78%
Eggs
$2.07 ₱121
$2.43 R 39.98
-14.81%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.64 ₱564
$8.49 R 140
13.55%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.19 ₱304
$5.17 R 85.2
0.39%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$8.57 ₱502
$7.49 R 123
14.42%
Apples (1kg)
$3.47 ₱203
$1.51 R 24.96
129.80%
Banana (1kg)
$1.74 ₱102
$1.44 R 23.73
20.83%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.47 ₱203
$1.45 R 23.91
139.31%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.42 ₱141
$1.58 R 26.03
53.16%
Potato (1kg)
$2.67 ₱156
$1.12 R 18.38
138.39%
Onion (1kg)
$3.06 ₱179
$1.23 R 20.20
148.78%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.02 ₱118
$1.08 R 17.88
87.04%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.64 ₱37.24
$1.00 R 16.46
-36.00%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.43 ₱201
$3.10 R 51.1
10.65%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.13 ₱593
$6.46 R 107
56.81%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.51 ₱88.4
$1.39 R 22.94
8.63%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.11 ₱124
$1.74 R 28.60
21.26%
🚌 Getting Around
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.52 ₱30.30
$0.93 R 15.36
-44.09%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$12.16 ₱711
$47.00 R 775
-74.13%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.85 ₱49.77
$1.43 R 23.49
-40.56%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.27 ₱15.87
$0.98 R 16.21
-72.45%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.10 ₱123
$4.35 R 71.7
-51.72%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.17 ₱68.2
$1.25 R 20.60
-6.40%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.4K ₱1.5M
$21.5K R 354.7K
22.74%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$22.4K ₱1.3M
$24.0K R 395.3K
-6.52%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$137 ₱8,041
$101 R 1,658
36.63%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$21.63 ₱1,265
$32.78 R 540
-34.01%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.23 ₱1,593
$41.87 R 690
-34.97%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$42.07 ₱2,461
$41.03 R 676
2.53%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.78 ₱397
$8.21 R 135
-17.42%
Cinema Ticket
$6.81 ₱398
$6.91 R 114
-1.45%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$352 ₱20.6K
$213 R 3,518
65.10%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.5K ₱672.8K
$5,248 R 86.5K
119.13%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$47.19 ₱2,760
$54.6 R 900
-13.63%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.63 ₱2,026
$33.30 R 549
3.99%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$82.2 ₱4,811
$111 R 1,834
-26.10%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$47.17 ₱2,759
$83.4 R 1,374
-43.41%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$499 ₱29.2K
$749 R 12.3K
-33.38%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$272 ₱15.9K
$517 R 8,514
-47.29%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,739 ₱101.7K
$1,460 R 24.1K
19.12%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$625 ₱36.6K
$1,008 R 16.6K
-38.01%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,647 ₱271.9K
$2,156 R 35.5K
115.54%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,691 ₱157.4K
$1,484 R 24.5K
81.31%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Manila
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$485 ₱28.4K
$1,625 R 26.8K
-70.12%
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: March 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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