Cost of living comparison

Manila, Philippines

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 79.0% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 13.2% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 3.4 times more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 58.0% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 7.3% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.7% more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 68.1% more in Costa Rica

The cost of transportation, restaurants, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Manila. Notably, transportation and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Manila	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.12 ₱285.44	$9.75 CRC4,935.12	+90.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.26 ₱237.87	$9.08 CRC4,597.94	+113.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 ₱48.72	$2.01 CRC1,017.96	+130.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ₱27.42	$1.49 CRC755.17	+203.6%
Average			+134.4%

Manila vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.2% more for groceries

	Manila	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.35 ₱75.44	$2.53 CRC1,282.05	+87.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.30 ₱295.95	$3.76 CRC1,905.07	-29.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 ₱379.07	$6.98 CRC3,531.91	+2.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.08 ₱115.98	$3.21 CRC1,626.34	+54.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.42 ₱135.00	$3.97 CRC2,010.47	+64.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱84.92	$1.79 CRC905.96	+17.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 ₱44.86	$0.62 CRC312.33	-23.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱84.93	$1.22 CRC615.87	-20.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 ₱54.50	$1.22 CRC618.52	+25.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱67.02	$1.09 CRC554.05	-8.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.48 ₱82.86	$1.11 CRC563.88	-25.0%
Average			+13.2%

Manila vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.4 times more for transportation

	Manila	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.14 ₱231.09	$5.63 CRC2,848.97	+35.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.93 ₱554.03	$49.00 CRC24,808.21	+393.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,575.45 ₱1,427,199.37	$35,063.37 CRC17,752,612.04	+37.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.67 ₱148.90	$15.62 CRC7,909.55	+485.5%
Average			+238.0%

Manila vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 58.0% more for housing

	Manila	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.80 ₱1,607.42	$48.50 CRC24,555.81	+68.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$468.88 ₱26,165.27	$778.04 CRC393,921.07	+65.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$234.44 ₱13,082.66	$547.50 CRC277,201.34	+133.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$106.33 ₱5,933.58	$68.26 CRC34,558.94	-35.8%
Average			+58.0%

Manila vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.3% less for childcare

	Manila	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$482.52 ₱26,926.49	$519.07 CRC262,804.31	+7.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,127.39 ₱788,357.74	$10,987.74 CRC5,563,102.81	-22.2%
Average			-7.3%

Manila vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 ₱76.12	$2.73 CRC1,380.76	+99.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.70 ₱150.50	$3.65 CRC1,850.14	+35.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.07 ₱171.26	$4.58 CRC2,320.03	+49.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.61 ₱2,266.22	$59.46 CRC30,104.94	+46.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 ₱428.16	$8.63 CRC4,367.31	+12.4%
Average			+48.7%

Manila vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 68.1% more for clothing

	Manila	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.31 ₱1,858.95	$65.32 CRC33,073.41	+96.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.60 ₱1,484.19	$44.54 CRC22,550.81	+67.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.03 ₱4,130.87	$110.39 CRC55,888.28	+49.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$60.89 ₱3,397.96	$97.22 CRC49,220.97	+59.7%
Average			+68.1%

Manila vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: May 2025

More cost comparisons

Manila vs.

London

Manila vs.

Algiers

Manila vs.

Prague

Manila vs.

Mexico City

Manila vs.

Vienna

Manila vs.

Cairo

Manila vs.

Athens

Manila vs.

Kiev

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Philippines vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Philippines and Costa Rica.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Manila

Add prices for Costa Rica

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Costa Rica or Manila. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.