---
title: "Cost of Living: Tokyo vs Manila — Geo-Parity"
description: "Philippines is 55% cheaper than Japan for monthly essentials ($685 vs $1,524). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/japan-vs-philippines/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=JP&target=PH"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · JP vs PH

# 🇯🇵 Tokyo vs 🇵🇭 Manila: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$1,524** in Japan vs **$685** in Philippines — 55% cheaper.

- **Essentials, Japan**: $1,524/mo
- **Essentials, Philippines**: $685/mo
- **Difference**: -55%
- **1-bed city rent, Philippines**: $414/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in Philippines

- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -60%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -60%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -60%

Closest to Japan prices

- Jeans (mid-range brand): -23%
- Running shoes (brand): -23%
- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -23%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | Japan | Philippines | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $1,041 | $414 (23,794 PHP) | -60% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $833 | $331 (19,036 PHP) | -60% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,903 | $757 (43,510 PHP) | -60% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $11.97 | $5.80 (334 PHP) | -52% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $49.86 | $24.15 (1,389 PHP) | -52% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $7.59 | $3.93 (226 PHP) | -48% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.82 | $0.48 (28 PHP) | -41% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.38 | $1.40 (81 PHP) | -41% |
| Eggs, dozen | $2.53 | $1.49 (86 PHP) | -41% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $7.43 | $4.39 (252 PHP) | -41% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.97 | $1.75 (101 PHP) | -41% |
| Apples, 1kg | $3.57 | $2.11 (121 PHP) | -41% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $8.92 | $5.26 (302 PHP) | -41% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.49 | $0.88 (51 PHP) | -41% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $3.99 | $1.93 (111 PHP) | -52% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.90 | $5.30 (305 PHP) | -23% |
| Cappuccino | $3.32 | $1.61 (93 PHP) | -52% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.71 | $1.01 (58 PHP) | -41% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $44.85 | $23.21 (1,335 PHP) | -48% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.90 | $0.98 (56 PHP) | -48% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $2.66 | $1.29 (74 PHP) | -51% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.20 | $0.58 (33 PHP) | -52% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.82 | $0.63 (36 PHP) | -23% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $138 | $71.40 (4,106 PHP) | -48% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $48.30 | $24.99 (1,437 PHP) | -48% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $31.05 | $16.06 (924 PHP) | -48% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $33.24 | $16.10 (926 PHP) | -52% |
| Cinema seat | $9.31 | $4.51 (259 PHP) | -52% |
| Men's haircut | $19.95 | $9.66 (556 PHP) | -52% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $47.41 | $36.43 (2,095 PHP) | -23% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $77.59 | $59.61 (3,428 PHP) | -23% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $166 | $80.51 (4,630 PHP) | -52% |

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=JP&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 **3,233 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $2,387 | $253 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $939 | — |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 39.3% | — |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $445 | $86.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 2.6 | 0.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Tokyo and Manila. | 72 | 2 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | very strong | weak |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2 (very low) | 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. | 8.5 | 16.9 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 84 | 69.9 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.2 | 4.3 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 85.5% | 67.3% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 248 | 144.8 |

## The whole Japan → 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 Japan → Philippines report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/japan-to-philippines/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Philippines vs Japan](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-japan/)
- [Fair salary: Japan → Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/salary/japan-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

### Japan compared with

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

### Moving to Philippines from

- [Italy vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/italy-vs-philippines/)
- [Spain vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/spain-vs-philippines/)
- [Portugal vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-philippines/)
- [France vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/france-vs-philippines/)
- [Singapore vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/singapore-vs-philippines/)
- [Greece vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/greece-vs-philippines/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Philippines than Japan?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $685 in Philippines versus $1,524 in Japan — 55% 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 $3.99 in Japan.
- **How much is rent in Philippines compared to Japan?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $414/month in Philippines versus $1,041/month in Japan (-60%). 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=JP&target=PH.

---

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