Cost of living comparison

Nairobi, Kenya

compared to

Manila, Philippines

Manila vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 44.9% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 6.5% more in Manila
Groceries: pay 76.0% more in Manila
Transportation: pay 37.2% less in Manila
Housing: pay 99.5% more in Manila
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Manila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.9% less in Manila
Clothing: pay 37.4% more in Manila

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

Manila vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.5% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.85 KES499.63	$5.12 ₱290.00	+32.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 KES799.40	$4.26 ₱241.66	-30.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 KES85.93	$0.87 ₱49.49	+31.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 KES69.04	$0.49 ₱27.86	-7.7%
Average			+6.5%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of restaurants

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pay 76.0% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Manila
Bread 1 loaf	$0.56 KES72.36	$1.35 ₱76.64	+142.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.59 KES724.78	$5.30 ₱300.68	-5.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.35 KES434.56	$6.79 ₱385.12	+102.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 KES220.77	$2.08 ₱117.84	+22.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 KES351.32	$2.42 ₱137.15	-10.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 KES163.85	$1.52 ₱86.27	+20.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 KES64.78	$0.80 ₱45.57	+60.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 KES113.29	$1.52 ₱86.29	+74.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.27	$0.98 ₱55.37	+113.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 KES62.56	$1.20 ₱68.09	+148.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 KES72.13	$1.48 ₱84.19	+166.9%
Average			+76.0%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.2% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.17 KES800.58	$4.14 ₱234.78	-32.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.83 KES3,997.01	$9.93 ₱562.88	-67.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,266.80 KES2,498,133.37	$25,575.45 ₱1,449,987.11	+32.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.87 KES1,798.66	$2.67 ₱151.28	-80.8%
Average			-37.2%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of transportation

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pay 99.5% more for housing

	Nairobi	Manila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.39 KES5,107.66	$28.80 ₱1,633.08	-26.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$428.53 KES55,562.95	$468.88 ₱26,583.05	+9.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$166.44 KES21,580.03	$234.44 ₱13,291.55	+40.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$22.39 KES2,903.41	$106.33 ₱6,028.32	+374.8%
Average			+99.5%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Nairobi	Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.67 KES21,611.05	$482.52 ₱27,356.42	+189.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,008.06 KES1,038,324.64	$14,127.39 ₱800,945.26	+76.4%
Average			+132.9%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES299.78	$1.36 ₱77.33	-41.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.24 KES290.55	$2.70 ₱152.91	+20.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.08 KES399.70	$3.07 ₱174.00	-0.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.12 KES5,720.22	$40.61 ₱2,302.40	-7.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.17 KES799.40	$7.67 ₱435.00	+24.4%
Average			-0.9%

Nairobi vs. Manila - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.4% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Manila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.84 KES2,183.84	$33.31 ₱1,888.63	+97.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.95 KES2,975.55	$26.60 ₱1,507.89	+15.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.84 KES8,017.82	$74.03 ₱4,196.83	+19.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.50 KES6,807.37	$60.89 ₱3,452.21	+16.0%
Average			+37.4%

Nairobi vs. Manila - 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: April 2025

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