---
title: "Cost of Living: Buenos Aires vs Manila — Geo-Parity"
description: "Philippines is 25% cheaper than Argentina for monthly essentials ($685 vs $913). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-philippines/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=AR&target=PH"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · AR vs PH

# 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires vs 🇵🇭 Manila: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$913** in Argentina vs **$685** in Philippines — 25% cheaper.

- **Essentials, Argentina**: $913/mo
- **Essentials, Philippines**: $685/mo
- **Difference**: -25%
- **1-bed city rent, Philippines**: $414/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in Philippines

- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -28%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -28%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -28%

Closest to Argentina prices

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -8.7%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -9.1%
- Running shoes (brand): -9.1%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | Argentina | Philippines | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $578 | $414 (23,794 PHP) | -28% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $462 | $331 (19,036 PHP) | -28% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,056 | $757 (43,510 PHP) | -28% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $7.53 | $5.80 (334 PHP) | -23% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $31.39 | $24.15 (1,389 PHP) | -23% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $4.98 | $3.93 (226 PHP) | -21% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.58 | $0.48 (28 PHP) | -17% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.70 | $1.40 (81 PHP) | -18% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.80 | $1.49 (86 PHP) | -17% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.31 | $4.39 (252 PHP) | -17% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.12 | $1.75 (101 PHP) | -17% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.55 | $2.11 (121 PHP) | -17% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $6.37 | $5.26 (302 PHP) | -17% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.06 | $0.88 (51 PHP) | -17% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.51 | $1.93 (111 PHP) | -23% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.83 | $5.30 (305 PHP) | -9.1% |
| Cappuccino | $2.09 | $1.61 (93 PHP) | -23% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.22 | $1.01 (58 PHP) | -17% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $29.45 | $23.21 (1,335 PHP) | -21% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.25 | $0.98 (56 PHP) | -22% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.67 | $1.29 (74 PHP) | -23% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.75 | $0.58 (33 PHP) | -23% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.69 | $0.63 (36 PHP) | -8.7% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $90.60 | $71.40 (4,106 PHP) | -21% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $31.71 | $24.99 (1,437 PHP) | -21% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $20.39 | $16.06 (924 PHP) | -21% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $20.93 | $16.10 (926 PHP) | -23% |
| Cinema seat | $5.86 | $4.51 (259 PHP) | -23% |
| Men's haircut | $12.56 | $9.66 (556 PHP) | -23% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $40.07 | $36.43 (2,095 PHP) | -9.1% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $65.57 | $59.61 (3,428 PHP) | -9.1% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $105 | $80.51 (4,630 PHP) | -23% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=AR&target=PH).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **17,367 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $854 | $253 |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $357 | $86.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 5.1 | 0.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Buenos Aires and Manila. | 123 | 2 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | middling | weak |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 4.2 (medium) | 5.3 (high) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 16 | 18 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 12.5 | 16.9 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 77.5 | 69.9 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 89.7% | 67.3% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 192.7 | 144.8 |

## The whole Argentina → Philippines move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the Argentina → Philippines report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/argentina-to-philippines/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Philippines vs Argentina](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-argentina/)
- [Fair salary: Argentina → Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/salary/argentina-to-philippines/)
- [How much to retire in Philippines?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/philippines/)
- [Cost of living in Philippines vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/philippines/)

## More comparisons

### Argentina compared with

- [Argentina vs Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-colombia/)
- [Argentina vs Türkiye](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-turkiye/)
- [Argentina vs Malaysia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-malaysia/)
- [Argentina vs South Africa](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-south-africa/)
- [Argentina vs Thailand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-thailand/)
- [Argentina vs Vietnam](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-vietnam/)

### Moving to Philippines from

- [Brazil vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/brazil-vs-philippines/)
- [Saudi Arabia vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/saudi-arabia-vs-philippines/)
- [China vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-philippines/)
- [Chile vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/chile-vs-philippines/)
- [South Africa vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-africa-vs-philippines/)
- [Poland vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/poland-vs-philippines/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Philippines than Argentina?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $685 in Philippines versus $913 in Argentina — 25% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Philippines?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $1.93 in Philippines (≈ 110.98 PHP), versus about $2.51 in Argentina.
- **How much is rent in Philippines compared to Argentina?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $414/month in Philippines versus $578/month in Argentina (-28%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=AR&target=PH.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-philippines/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=AR&target=PH