Cost of living comparison

Manila, Philippines

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 82.7% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 23.2% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 3.1 times more in San Jose
Housing: pay 50.3% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.0% less in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.8% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 93.7% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Manila	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.12 ₱289.08	$10.83 CRC5,467.66	+111.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.26 ₱240.90	$9.72 CRC4,905.71	+128.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 ₱49.34	$1.99 CRC1,006.54	+128.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ₱27.77	$1.46 CRC737.56	+197.3%
Average			+141.3%

Manila vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.2% more for groceries

	Manila	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.35 ₱76.40	$2.60 CRC1,310.89	+92.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.30 ₱299.72	$4.26 CRC2,153.06	-19.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 ₱383.90	$7.23 CRC3,651.36	+6.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.08 ₱117.46	$3.26 CRC1,647.07	+57.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.42 ₱136.72	$4.41 CRC2,224.69	+82.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱86.00	$1.95 CRC984.75	+28.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 ₱45.43	$0.63 CRC318.18	-21.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱86.02	$1.59 CRC803.23	+4.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 ₱55.20	$1.35 CRC680.59	+38.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱67.87	$1.30 CRC656.05	+8.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.48 ₱83.92	$1.19 CRC601.26	-19.8%
Average			+23.2%

Manila vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.1 times more for transportation

	Manila	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.14 ₱234.04	$5.49 CRC2,770.53	+32.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.93 ₱561.10	$38.02 CRC19,196.25	+283.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,575.45 ₱1,445,396.42	$36,925.49 CRC18,641,693.93	+44.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.67 ₱150.80	$15.94 CRC8,047.82	+497.4%
Average			+214.3%

Manila vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.3% more for housing

	Manila	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$28.80 ₱1,627.91	$53.59 CRC27,057.05	+86.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$468.88 ₱26,498.89	$742.08 CRC374,635.94	+58.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$234.44 ₱13,249.47	$463.60 CRC234,047.38	+97.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$106.33 ₱6,009.23	$63.06 CRC31,833.38	-40.7%
Average			+50.3%

Manila vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0% less for childcare

	Manila	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$482.52 ₱27,269.81	$521.49 CRC263,273.05	+8.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,127.39 ₱798,409.45	$12,425.72 CRC6,273,076.39	-12.0%
Average			-2.0%

Manila vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 ₱77.09	$2.92 CRC1,471.71	+113.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.70 ₱152.42	$3.69 CRC1,863.54	+36.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.07 ₱173.45	$5.05 CRC2,550.97	+64.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.61 ₱2,295.11	$59.70 CRC30,139.86	+47.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 ₱433.62	$9.72 CRC4,905.71	+26.6%
Average			+57.8%

Manila vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 93.7% more for clothing

	Manila	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.31 ₱1,882.65	$73.59 CRC37,149.70	+120.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.60 ₱1,503.12	$50.81 CRC25,652.44	+91.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.03 ₱4,183.54	$125.98 CRC63,602.33	+70.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$60.89 ₱3,441.28	$117.31 CRC59,225.39	+92.7%
Average			+93.7%

Manila vs. San Jose - 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: July 2025

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