Cost of Living in Philippines - Updated Prices & Insights

Name: Philippines
Address: PH

Solo nomad: Estimated monthly costs are $498 (excluding rent), and $790 including rent.

Family of 3: Estimated monthly costs are $1,181 (excluding rent), and $1,628 including rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.96 ₱237

$1.75 ₱105

$8.74 ₱524

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.21 ₱1,271

$13.25 ₱794

$53.0 ₱3,178

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.51 ₱210

$2.63 ₱158

$4.50 ₱269

Cappuccino

$2.30 ₱138

$0.87 ₱51.8

$3.97 ₱238

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

$0.73 ₱43.65

$0.43 ₱25.61

$1.38 ₱82.6

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 ₱24.82

$0.28 ₱16.75

$0.83 ₱49.64

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.35 ₱80.9

$0.90 ₱54.2

$2.70 ₱162

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 ₱125

$1.39 ₱83.4

$4.34 ₱260

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 ₱107

$1.38 ₱82.8

$2.59 ₱155

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 ₱78.8

$0.87 ₱51.9

$1.80 ₱108

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱60.7

$0.83 ₱49.57

$1.28 ₱76.8

Eggs

$2.14 ₱128

$1.51 ₱90.2

$2.94 ₱176

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.69 ₱461

$3.14 ₱188

$18.73 ₱1,122

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.38 ₱262

$2.47 ₱148

$6.18 ₱370

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.38 ₱442

$5.07 ₱304

$10.49 ₱628

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 ₱184

$1.45 ₱86.7

$5.42 ₱325

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 ₱90.4

$0.73 ₱43.65

$2.91 ₱175

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 ₱163

$1.07 ₱63.9

$5.35 ₱321

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₱99.7

$0.54 ₱32.61

$2.73 ₱164

Potato (1kg)

$2.27 ₱136

$0.90 ₱53.6

$3.57 ₱214

Onion (1kg)

$2.57 ₱154

$1.14 ₱68.2

$4.56 ₱273

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 ₱86.7

$0.54 ₱32.57

$2.73 ₱163

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ₱45.86

$0.46 ₱27.64

$1.49 ₱89.2

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.02 ₱181

$2.31 ₱138

$3.56 ₱213

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱381

$3.90 ₱234

$13.04 ₱781

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 ₱72.1

$0.78 ₱46.84

$1.82 ₱109

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 ₱115

$1.07 ₱64.0

$2.68 ₱161

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₱16.88

$0.22 ₱13.13

$0.65 ₱38.75

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.75 ₱644

$6.23 ₱373

$18.26 ₱1,094

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 ₱48.60

$0.72 ₱43.13

$1.07 ₱64.4

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.25 ₱14.89

$0.20 ₱12.03

$0.43 ₱25.77

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 ₱160

$1.78 ₱107

$4.28 ₱256

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 ₱67.6

$1.04 ₱62.3

$1.31 ₱78.2

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

$22.8K ₱1.4M

$17.6K ₱1.1M

$28.1K ₱1.7M

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$17.4K ₱1.0M

$26.1K ₱1.6M

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

$106 ₱6,363

$61.0 ₱3,655

$185 ₱11.1K

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

$29.09 ₱1,743

$9.02 ₱540

$45.11 ₱2,702

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.24 ₱1,812

$24.76 ₱1,484

$44.21 ₱2,649

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.37 ₱1,939

$12.31 ₱738

$52.8 ₱3,161

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.73 ₱343

$2.73 ₱164

$9.10 ₱545

Cinema Ticket

$6.12 ₱366

$4.37 ₱262

$7.87 ₱472

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

$105 ₱6,308

$58.5 ₱3,503

$316 ₱18.9K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,391 ₱263.1K

$1,413 ₱84.7K

$8,832 ₱529.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.56 ₱2,730

$14.20 ₱851

$88.7 ₱5,315

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.94 ₱1,494

$8.71 ₱522

$51.3 ₱3,070

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.4 ₱4,458

$45.00 ₱2,696

$117 ₱7,011

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.6 ₱3,749

$26.25 ₱1,573

$140 ₱8,387

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$312 ₱18.7K

$140 ₱8,412

$649 ₱38.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$178 ₱10.7K

$88.0 ₱5,270

$387 ₱23.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$649 ₱38.9K

$261 ₱15.7K

$1,742 ₱104.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$359 ₱21.5K

$178 ₱10.7K

$891 ₱53.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,953 ₱176.9K

$842 ₱50.5K

$6,261 ₱375.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,381 ₱82.7K

$498 ₱29.8K

$3,383 ₱202.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$333 ₱20.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.22

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

Last update: April 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	$469	$686	$986	$1,512	68.8	194.55
2	Albay	-	39	$450	$775	$1,210	$1,656	107.28	53.98
3	Angeles	462928	43	$561	$861	$1,109	$1,828	79.29	169.29
4	Antipolo	887399	38	$461	$739	$1,185	$1,783	27.74	161.88
5	Bacolod	561875	37	$517	$746	$1,277	$1,694	111.75	132.24
6	Bacong	41207	34	$442	$678	$1,164	$1,536	57.85	102.99
7	Bacoor	600609	39	$398	$769	$1,109	$1,583	109.99	198.38
8	Bago	191210	39	$502	$766	$1,062	$1,658	34.73	91.42
9	Baguio	366358	39	$490	$788	$1,104	$1,513	133.22	150.73
10	Bataan	-	30	$570	$608	$1,027	$1,373	48.37	95.99
11	Batangas	329874	33	$468	$655	$955	$1,295	141.25	153.03
12	Bayawan City	122747	40	$534	$786	$1,413	$1,712	110.4	35.18
13	Binan City	407037	45	$579	$880	$1,391	$1,804	29.3	183
14	Binangonan	313631	36	$561	$713	$1,090	$1,723	565.41	153.14
15	Bogo City	-	38	$531	$746	$1,004	$1,590	57.66	91.71
16	Bohol	-	35	$413	$684	$1,196	$1,556	152.52	65.9
17	Boracay	-	39	$524	$790	$1,216	$2,017	96.93	82.37
18	Bulacan	3700000	35	$428	$720	$970	$1,341	20.47	127.13
19	Butuan	337063	36	$446	$723	$1,114	$1,497	24.21	122.37
20	Cabanatuan	302231	26	$389	$524	$950	$1,536	40.62	137.55
21	Cadiz	154723	33	$365	$673	$938	$1,432	129.39	41.27
22	Cagayan de Oro City	728402	38	$435	$760	$1,011	$1,480	92.19	123.35
23	Cainta	322128	51	$568	$1,000	$1,347	$1,774	20.31	208.26
24	Calamba	539671	36	$444	$704	$959	$1,649	42.76	170.07
25	Calapan City	145786	40	$540	$783	$1,115	$1,658	201.12	102.51
26	Calbayog	183851	35	$420	$695	$967	$1,441	130.71	67.96
27	Caloocan	1661584	34	$360	$679	$854	$1,433	134.42	184
28	Cauayan City	-	34	$353	$671	$990	$1,393	40.58	69.17
29	Cavite	100674	30	$428	$601	$848	$1,407	48.7	165.58
30	Cebu	964169	44	$562	$873	$1,320	$1,808	105.4	133.22
31	Clark Freeport	-	39	$468	$788	$1,007	$1,654	-	-
32	Cotabato City	325079	37	$413	$735	$1,126	$1,572	30.62	111.74
33	Dagupan	174302	41	$510	$837	$1,209	$1,612	255.75	130.46
34	Dasmarinas	659019	28	$415	$551	$892	$1,386	107.45	195.6
35	Davao	1632991	41	$539	$818	$1,231	$1,713	70.74	172.4
36	Dipolog	130759	34	$419	$673	$885	$1,514	11.12	94.84
37	Dumaguete	134103	43	$541	$868	$1,191	$1,795	114.36	161.71
38	El Nido	50494	41	$596	$818	$1,086	$1,745	27.86	69.22
39	General Santos	697315	36	$431	$714	$1,068	$1,479	53.65	120.68
40	General Trias	450583	37	$591	$735	$1,428	$1,708	204.5	185.7
41	Iligan City	-	39	$516	$799	$1,212	$1,650	164.93	75.26
42	Iloilo	457626	35	$452	$701	$1,044	$1,405	400.01	142.14
43	Imus	496794	38	$574	$741	$1,279	$1,532	48.56	202.57
44	Island Garden City of Samal	116771	36	$385	$719	$842	$1,491	180.27	57.9
45	Koronadal City	174942	29	$363	$572	$930	$1,168	86.04	62.71
46	Laoag City	-	40	$492	$805	$1,136	$1,645	218.43	99.8
47	Lapu-Lapu	497604	43	$523	$850	$1,252	$1,795	85.22	164.55
48	Las Pinas	606293	42	$476	$829	$1,316	$1,793	112.89	200.72
49	Legazpi	209533	38	$553	$777	$1,303	$1,557	179.26	137.59
50	Ligao City	-	39	$552	$791	$1,271	$1,630	128.15	85.72

Philippines Median Internet Speeds (Updated April 2026)

Mobile

Mbps

Fixed Broadband

Mbps

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

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.