Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pasig and Kuching

For one person, living is cheaper in Pasig: $716 a month against $972 in Kuching, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Pasig
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Pasig Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Kuching
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Kuching Living Index

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Pasig

🇵🇭 Philippines

$716

/mo nomad

Kuching

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$972

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pasig and in Kuching

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $716 in Pasig versus $972 in Kuching.

Pasig $716
Kuching $972

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,199 in Pasig versus $1,521 in Kuching.

Pasig $1,199
Kuching $1,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,682 in Pasig versus $2,070 in Kuching.

Pasig $1,682
Kuching $2,070

Living in Pasig costs roughly 26% less than in Kuching, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pasig 47% lower, Kuching 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 ₱248

$3.37 MYR 13.75

15.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.26 ₱1,678

$24.51 MYR 99.9

7.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.74 ₱175

$4.90 MYR 19.98

-44.08%

Cappuccino

$2.20 ₱140

$3.19 MYR 13.01

-31.03%

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

$0.65 ₱41.28

$0.78 MYR 3.19

-16.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₱21.09

$0.38 MYR 1.55

-13.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.14 ₱73.0

$4.61 MYR 18.79

-75.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 ₱149

$5.96 MYR 24.30

-60.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 ₱108

$2.39 MYR 9.74

-29.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 ₱70.4

$1.19 MYR 4.87

-7.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₱63.6

$1.19 MYR 4.85

-15.97%

Eggs

$1.99 ₱127

$2.38 MYR 9.68

-16.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.63 ₱360

$10.99 MYR 44.77

-48.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.41 ₱218

$4.34 MYR 17.67

-21.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.69 ₱491

$10.00 MYR 40.73

-23.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 ₱197

$3.17 MYR 12.92

-2.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 ₱96.9

$1.32 MYR 5.38

15.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 ₱181

$2.52 MYR 10.28

12.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 ₱111

$1.78 MYR 7.26

-2.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.25 ₱144

$1.38 MYR 5.63

63.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 ₱169

$1.19 MYR 4.84

122.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.14 ₱136

$1.61 MYR 6.57

32.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₱37.41

$0.55 MYR 2.22

7.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.91 ₱186

$4.76 MYR 19.37

-38.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.57 ₱612

$22.25 MYR 90.7

-56.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 ₱82.8

$4.13 MYR 16.81

-68.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 ₱130

$5.06 MYR 20.60

-59.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ₱30.73

$0.36 MYR 1.47

33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.48 MYR 30.47

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱49.10

$0.97 MYR 3.95

-20.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.74

$1.23 MYR 5.01

-81.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 ₱123

$8.82 MYR 35.92

-78.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ₱78.2

$0.94 MYR 3.83

29.79%

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

$21.4K ₱1.4M

$45.9K MYR 187.2K

-53.47%

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

$18.7K ₱1.2M

$36.1K MYR 146.9K

-48.25%

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

$119 ₱7,635

$35.63 MYR 145

235.36%

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

$16.99 ₱1,085

$10.19 MYR 41.52

66.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.01 ₱1,534

$25.50 MYR 104

-5.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.49 ₱1,884

$33.85 MYR 138

-12.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.26 MYR 49.94

Cinema Ticket

$6.14 ₱393

$4.87 MYR 19.85

26.08%

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

$131 ₱8,373

$135 MYR 551

-3.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,921 ₱570.0K

$7,150 MYR 29.1K

24.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.15 ₱2,118

$64.1 MYR 261

-48.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.27 ₱1,742

$37.52 MYR 153

-27.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.6 ₱4,446

$90.0 MYR 367

-22.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.9 ₱3,505

$64.6 MYR 263

-15.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$323 ₱20.7K

$469 MYR 1,912

-31.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 ₱9,467

$334 MYR 1,361

-55.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$504 ₱32.2K

$834 MYR 3,399

-39.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$476 ₱30.4K

$654 MYR 2,667

-27.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,203 ₱204.6K

$2,053 MYR 8,364

56.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,511 ₱160.4K

$1,534 MYR 6,248

63.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$512 ₱32.7K

$535 MYR 2,181

-4.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

4.37

54.46%

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

Last update for Pasig: October 26, 2026

Last update for Kuching: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Pasig

$199 27.8%

Kuching

$272 28% 37% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pasig

$160 22.4%

Kuching

$71 7.3% 55.6% $89

Accommodation & Living

Pasig

$148 20.7%

Kuching

$334 34.4% 125% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Pasig

$83 11.6%

Kuching

$115 11.9% 38.6% $32

Eating Out

Pasig

$80 11.2%

Kuching

$120 12.3% 49.7% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Pasig

$42 5.8%

Kuching

$44 4.5% 4.3% $1.8

Getting Around

Pasig

$3.9 * 0.5%

Kuching

$16 1.7% 317% $12

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $323 in Pasig and $469 in Kuching. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kuching pays 5% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $26 in Pasig vs $25 in Kuching. Groceries flip the comparison at $199 vs $272, with Pasig cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Pasig

🇲🇾 Kuching

🕒 Local time

03:53 3:53 AM

Same time as Pasig

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

803,159

349,147

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Pasig Kuching 1,870 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Pasig
Kuching

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

Pasig vs Kuching: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pasig is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Pasig. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $323 in Pasig versus $469 in Kuching. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Kuching. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $716 per month in Pasig versus $972 in Kuching – Pasig is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

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

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