Cost of living comparison

Manila, Philippines

compared to

Bucharest, Romania

Bucharest vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Bucharest is 49.2% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.7 times more in Bucharest
Groceries: pay 18.5% less in Bucharest
Transportation: pay 60.1% more in Bucharest
Housing: pay 13.2% more in Bucharest
Childcare: pay 7.6% less in Bucharest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.9% more in Bucharest
Clothing: pay 68.6% more in Bucharest

The cost of restaurants, clothing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and housing in Bucharest are more expensive than in Manila. Expenses including groceries and childcare are lower in Bucharest. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Bucharest.

Bucharest vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bucharest instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

	Manila	Bucharest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.12 ₱286.85	$11.85 RON51.56	+131.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.26 ₱239.05	$7.54 RON32.81	+76.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 ₱48.96	$2.00 RON8.69	+128.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ₱27.56	$2.20 RON9.59	+348.5%
Average			+171.5%

Manila vs. Bucharest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.5% less for groceries

	Manila	Bucharest
Bread 1 loaf	$1.35 ₱75.81	$1.17 RON5.11	-13.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.30 ₱297.42	$4.52 RON19.68	-14.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 ₱380.95	$6.34 RON27.59	-6.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.08 ₱116.56	$3.28 RON14.26	+57.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.42 ₱135.67	$3.09 RON13.44	+27.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱85.34	$0.59 RON2.55	-61.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 ₱45.08	$0.77 RON3.35	-4.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱85.35	$0.75 RON3.27	-50.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 ₱54.77	$0.88 RON3.83	-9.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱67.35	$0.51 RON2.21	-57.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.48 ₱83.27	$0.44 RON1.92	-70.3%
Average			-18.5%

Manila vs. Bucharest - Cost of groceries

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pay 60.1% more for transportation

	Manila	Bucharest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.14 ₱232.24	$6.09 RON26.51	+47.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.93 ₱556.78	$17.24 RON74.99	+73.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,575.45 ₱1,434,271.00	$26,003.12 RON113,126.56	+1.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.67 ₱149.64	$5.82 RON25.31	+118.0%
Average			+60.1%

Manila vs. Bucharest - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.2% more for housing

	Manila	Bucharest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.80 ₱1,615.38	$9.35 RON40.70	-67.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$468.88 ₱26,294.92	$601.94 RON2,618.73	+28.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$234.44 ₱13,147.48	$397.23 RON1,728.15	+69.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$106.33 ₱5,962.98	$130.07 RON565.86	+22.3%
Average			+13.2%

Manila vs. Bucharest - Cost of housing

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pay 7.6% less for childcare

	Manila	Bucharest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$482.52 ₱27,059.91	$527.95 RON2,296.85	+9.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,127.39 ₱792,263.98	$10,631.65 RON46,252.99	-24.7%
Average			-7.6%

Manila vs. Bucharest - Cost of childcare

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pay 56.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Bucharest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 ₱76.49	$3.23 RON14.06	+137.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.70 ₱151.25	$3.17 RON13.78	+17.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.07 ₱172.11	$5.98 RON26.01	+94.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.61 ₱2,277.45	$49.84 RON216.84	+22.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 ₱430.28	$8.62 RON37.50	+12.3%
Average			+56.9%

Manila vs. Bucharest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 68.6% more for clothing

	Manila	Bucharest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.31 ₱1,868.16	$78.42 RON341.14	+135.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.60 ₱1,491.55	$39.68 RON172.62	+49.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.03 ₱4,151.34	$85.94 RON373.90	+16.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$60.89 ₱3,414.79	$105.80 RON460.29	+73.8%
Average			+68.6%

Manila vs. Bucharest - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2025

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