Cost of Living in Philippines - Updated Prices & Insights

Name: Philippines
Address: PH

Solo nomad: Estimated monthly costs are $497 (excluding rent), and $778 including rent.

Family of 3: Estimated monthly costs are $1,184 (excluding rent), and $1,654 including rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.95 ₱235

$1.75 ₱104

$8.74 ₱519

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.12 ₱1,255

$13.20 ₱784

$52.8 ₱3,138

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.45 ₱205

$2.59 ₱154

$4.42 ₱263

Cappuccino

$2.41 ₱143

$0.90 ₱53.7

$4.14 ₱246

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

$0.74 ₱43.69

$0.43 ₱25.63

$1.39 ₱82.7

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 ₱24.55

$0.28 ₱16.57

$0.83 ₱49.10

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.34 ₱79.8

$0.90 ₱53.4

$2.69 ₱160

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 ₱125

$1.41 ₱83.6

$4.39 ₱261

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 ₱106

$1.38 ₱82.1

$2.59 ₱154

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 ₱78.0

$0.86 ₱51.4

$1.80 ₱107

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ₱55.9

$0.77 ₱45.61

$1.19 ₱70.7

Eggs

$2.12 ₱126

$1.49 ₱88.8

$2.92 ₱173

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.94 ₱472

$3.24 ₱193

$19.34 ₱1,150

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.46 ₱265

$2.52 ₱150

$6.30 ₱375

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.66 ₱455

$5.25 ₱312

$10.88 ₱646

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 ₱184

$1.45 ₱86.3

$5.44 ₱323

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 ₱88.5

$0.72 ₱42.75

$2.88 ₱171

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 ₱157

$1.04 ₱61.6

$5.20 ₱309

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 ₱98.2

$0.54 ₱32.14

$2.71 ₱161

Potato (1kg)

$2.32 ₱138

$0.92 ₱54.4

$3.65 ₱217

Onion (1kg)

$2.53 ₱150

$1.12 ₱66.5

$4.49 ₱267

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 ₱86.3

$0.55 ₱32.42

$2.74 ₱163

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ₱44.38

$0.45 ₱26.75

$1.45 ₱86.3

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ₱183

$2.36 ₱140

$3.64 ₱216

Wine (Bottle)

$6.38 ₱379

$3.88 ₱231

$13.09 ₱778

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 ₱70.6

$0.77 ₱45.83

$1.80 ₱107

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₱110

$1.04 ₱61.6

$2.60 ₱155

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₱16.81

$0.22 ₱13.08

$0.65 ₱38.61

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.44 ₱621

$6.06 ₱360

$17.74 ₱1,054

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 ₱48.41

$0.72 ₱42.96

$1.08 ₱64.1

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.27 ₱16.17

$0.22 ₱13.06

$0.47 ₱27.98

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 ₱154

$1.72 ₱102

$4.14 ₱246

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 ₱69.3

$1.08 ₱63.9

$1.35 ₱80.2

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

$23.3K ₱1.4M

$17.9K ₱1.1M

$28.6K ₱1.7M

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

$21.0K ₱1.2M

$17.4K ₱1.0M

$26.2K ₱1.6M

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

$108 ₱6,428

$62.1 ₱3,693

$189 ₱11.2K

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

$28.10 ₱1,670

$8.71 ₱518

$43.57 ₱2,589

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.84 ₱1,833

$25.25 ₱1,501

$45.08 ₱2,679

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.82 ₱1,950

$12.49 ₱742

$53.5 ₱3,180

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.75 ₱341

$2.74 ₱163

$9.12 ₱542

Cinema Ticket

$6.16 ₱366

$4.40 ₱262

$7.93 ₱471

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

$106 ₱6,326

$59.1 ₱3,512

$319 ₱19.0K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,361 ₱259.2K

$1,403 ₱83.4K

$8,771 ₱521.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.41 ₱2,758

$14.46 ₱859

$90.4 ₱5,370

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.23 ₱1,499

$8.81 ₱524

$51.9 ₱3,081

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.2 ₱4,292

$43.67 ₱2,596

$114 ₱6,749

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.2 ₱3,698

$26.10 ₱1,551

$139 ₱8,273

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$312 ₱18.5K

$141 ₱8,350

$650 ₱38.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$176 ₱10.5K

$86.9 ₱5,163

$382 ₱22.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$654 ₱38.8K

$263 ₱15.6K

$1,754 ₱104.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$351 ₱20.8K

$174 ₱10.3K

$870 ₱51.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,040 ₱180.7K

$874 ₱52.0K

$6,502 ₱386.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,494 ₱88.8K

$505 ₱30.0K

$3,434 ₱204.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$349 ₱20.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.22

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

Last update: January 12, 2026

By City in Philippines

Lowest

Highest

Rank	City	Population	Living Index	Solo costs (no rent) / month	Solo costs (with rent) / month	Family of 3 costs (no rent) / month	Family of 3 costs (with rent) / month	Mobile download speed (Mbps)	Internet download speed (Mbps)
1	Alabang	71075	34	$479	$689	$1,085	$1,534	74.17	182.8
2	Albay	-	39	$443	$775	$1,278	$1,656	101.05	51.39
3	Angeles	462928	42	$556	$852	$1,085	$1,817	197.41	145.5
4	Antipolo	887399	38	$551	$765	$1,066	$1,769	20.09	152.28
5	Bacolod	561875	37	$528	$740	$1,152	$1,696	92.63	128.15
6	Bacong	41207	34	$423	$680	$967	$1,548	64.92	122.98
7	Bacoor	600609	39	$410	$788	$898	$1,610	123.19	185.26
8	Bago	191210	39	$502	$774	$1,240	$1,609	27.82	82.71
9	Baguio	366358	39	$476	$782	$1,096	$1,495	94.93	135.19
10	Bataan	-	30	$562	$605	$1,120	$1,389	120.32	94.43
11	Batangas	329874	33	$454	$665	$1,031	$1,250	121.19	152.54
12	Bayawan City	122747	40	$548	$800	$1,216	$1,726	109.09	45.81
13	Binan City	407037	44	$580	$875	$1,428	$1,856	141.94	167.74
14	Binangonan	313631	36	$533	$722	$1,231	$1,696	34.27	149
15	Bogo City	-	38	$511	$762	$1,022	$1,607	122.91	78.04
16	Bohol	-	35	$507	$712	$1,293	$1,531	24.89	68.85
17	Boracay	-	39	$485	$789	$1,155	$1,981	162.26	86.19
18	Bulacan	3700000	35	$458	$709	$1,056	$1,337	18.49	94.86
19	Butuan	337063	36	$383	$704	$1,085	$1,472	156.39	106.72
20	Cabanatuan	302231	26	$406	$524	$989	$1,566	251.17	121.42
21	Cadiz	154723	33	$433	$664	$1,007	$1,409	33.19	46.73
22	Cagayan de Oro City	728402	38	$449	$760	$1,019	$1,491	34.46	127.42
23	Cainta	322128	51	$554	$1,007	$1,097	$1,763	71.59	193.1
24	Calamba	539671	35	$423	$699	$1,193	$1,627	58.73	163.5
25	Calapan City	145786	40	$540	$779	$1,290	$1,630	121.06	106
26	Calbayog	183851	35	$467	$701	$1,115	$1,411	293.73	47.81
27	Caloocan	1661584	34	$359	$671	$732	$1,430	33.62	161.36
28	Cauayan City	-	34	$360	$669	$816	$1,412	25.48	61.7
29	Cavite	100674	30	$395	$605	$1,033	$1,427	18.95	159.78
30	Cebu	964169	44	$569	$868	$1,323	$1,809	50.55	124.5
31	Clark Freeport	-	39	$521	$777	$1,073	$1,652	-	-
32	Cotabato City	325079	37	$396	$738	$1,110	$1,558	37.34	108.48
33	Dagupan	174302	41	$484	$814	$1,228	$1,642	88.01	128.94
34	Dasmarinas	659019	27	$388	$536	$952	$1,397	198.85	192.6
35	Davao	1632991	41	$525	$827	$1,245	$1,694	312.84	157.11
36	Dipolog	130759	34	$432	$672	$970	$1,484	108.76	79.04
37	Dumaguete	134103	43	$556	$862	$1,324	$1,796	45.86	159.55
38	El Nido	50494	41	$585	$801	$1,451	$1,745	90.39	73.68
39	General Santos	697315	35	$486	$706	$1,128	$1,485	75.06	109.63
40	General Trias	450583	37	$564	$728	$1,381	$1,688	186.98	174.5
41	Iligan City	-	39	$464	$780	$1,127	$1,654	60	74.4
42	Iloilo	457626	35	$454	$700	$1,046	$1,395	197.24	132.37
43	Imus	496794	38	$497	$763	$1,117	$1,520	42.61	188.54
44	Island Garden City of Samal	116771	36	$477	$718	$911	$1,468	207.11	50.41
45	Koronadal City	174942	29	$434	$562	$811	$1,146	37.49	84.06
46	Laoag City	-	40	$513	$794	$1,176	$1,645	79.78	99.98
47	Lapu-Lapu	497604	43	$446	$853	$1,246	$1,831	98.7	152.77
48	Las Pinas	606293	42	$522	$839	$1,255	$1,790	119.07	176.75
49	Legazpi	209533	38	$537	$769	$1,119	$1,553	8.96	132.82
50	Ligao City	-	39	$545	$765	$1,167	$1,646	121.11	89.65

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cost of Living in Philippines - Frequently Asked Questions

The Philippines often sits mid-range for Southeast Asia, offering a balance of value and lifestyle that suits travelers, expats, and digital nomads. The Cost of Living in Philippines tends to be lower in provincial towns and higher in major urban centers, especially near business districts and coastal hubs. You can stretch your budget by choosing longer stays in walkable neighborhoods with supermarkets, markets, and reliable public transport, and by combining room-sharing with quiet work-friendly spaces. Island life is delightful but can be pricier for housing and ferries; inland cities often deliver steadier costs and faster internet. Tip: Start with a short-term rental in a central area to test daily expenses before committing.

Daily life varies by island and city, but common patterns emerge. For housing, look for walkable districts near markets and transit; shared apartments or suites can reduce costs while keeping your workspace close. Food choices range from affordable street foods to fresh groceries for cooking at home; you'll find plenty of cafeterias and coworking-friendly cafes. Transport is diverse: jeepneys, buses, trains, and ride-hailing apps cover most routes, with some cities offering bike lanes. For digital nomads, neighborhood hubs with reliable Wi-Fi matter as much as proximity to cafes. The Philippines living cost tends to be steadier when you base yourself away from peak tourist seasons and in communities with local amenities. Tip: test several areas for internet reliability and noise levels before committing to a long stay.

Create a simple budgeting framework: categorize essentials, discretionary spends, and occasional splurges; track a monthly baseline with buffer for surprises like weather or travel. In the Philippines you’ll notice seasonal shifts in clothing, energy use, and transport demand; plan for heavier humidity summers by prioritizing shaded routes and airier spaces. Neighborhoods that blend affordability with access to amenities – markets, clinics, and coworking spaces – make daily life smoother. Try a two-step approach: sample a few districts during different times of the year, then pick a home base that aligns with your work hours, social life, and preferred pace. Tip: set a weekly review to adjust routines and cut variable costs early.