---
title: "Cost of Living: Manila vs Amsterdam — Geo-Parity"
description: "Netherlands is 195% more expensive than Philippines for monthly essentials ($2,019 vs $685). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/netherlands-vs-philippines/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=PH&target=NL"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · PH vs NL

# 🇵🇭 Manila vs 🇳🇱 Amsterdam: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$685** in Philippines vs **$2,019** in Netherlands — 195% more expensive.

- **Essentials, Philippines**: $685/mo
- **Essentials, Netherlands**: $2,019/mo
- **Difference**: +195%
- **1-bed city rent, Netherlands**: $1,433/mo

## Biggest differences

Smallest premium in Netherlands

- Jeans (mid-range brand): +43%
- Running shoes (brand): +43%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: +43%

Pricier in Netherlands

- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +246%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +246%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +246%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | Philippines | Netherlands | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $414 | $1,433 (1,268 EUR) | +246% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $331 | $1,146 (1,015 EUR) | +246% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $757 | $2,620 (2,319 EUR) | +246% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $5.80 | $15.38 (14 EUR) | +165% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $24.15 | $64.10 (57 EUR) | +165% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $3.93 | $9.54 (8 EUR) | +143% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.48 | $0.98 (1 EUR) | +104% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.40 | $2.85 (3 EUR) | +104% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.49 | $3.03 (3 EUR) | +103% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $4.39 | $8.92 (8 EUR) | +103% |
| White rice, 1kg | $1.75 | $3.57 (3 EUR) | +104% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.11 | $4.28 (4 EUR) | +103% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $5.26 | $10.71 (9 EUR) | +104% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $0.88 | $1.78 (2 EUR) | +102% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $1.93 | $5.13 (5 EUR) | +166% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.30 | $7.56 (7 EUR) | +43% |
| Cappuccino | $1.61 | $4.27 (4 EUR) | +165% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.01 | $2.05 (2 EUR) | +103% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $23.21 | $56.36 (50 EUR) | +143% |
| Public transport, one-way | $0.98 | $2.38 (2 EUR) | +143% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.29 | $3.42 (3 EUR) | +165% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.58 | $1.54 (1 EUR) | +166% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.63 | $0.90 (1 EUR) | +43% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $71.40 | $173 (153 EUR) | +143% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $24.99 | $60.69 (54 EUR) | +143% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $16.06 | $39.02 (35 EUR) | +143% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $16.10 | $42.74 (38 EUR) | +165% |
| Cinema seat | $4.51 | $11.97 (11 EUR) | +165% |
| Men's haircut | $9.66 | $25.64 (23 EUR) | +165% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $36.43 | $51.95 (46 EUR) | +43% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $59.61 | $85.01 (75 EUR) | +43% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $80.51 | $214 (189 EUR) | +165% |

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=PH&target=NL).

## 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 **10,879 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $253 | $4,367 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | — | $1,341 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | — | 30.7% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $86.00 | $807 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 0.8 | 3.9 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Manila and Amsterdam. | 2 | 71 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | weak | very strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 5.3 (high) | 2.5 (low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 18 | 9 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 16.9 | 9.1 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 69.9 | 82 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 4.3 | 0.7 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 67.3% | 97% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 144.8 | 201.5 |

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

## Related

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

## More comparisons

### Philippines compared with

- [Philippines vs New Zealand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Philippines vs Norway](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-norway/)
- [Philippines vs United Kingdom](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [Philippines vs Sweden](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-sweden/)
- [Philippines vs Canada](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-canada/)
- [Philippines vs Ireland](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-ireland/)

### Moving to Netherlands from

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

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much more expensive is Netherlands than Philippines?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $2,019 in Netherlands versus $685 in Philippines — 195% more. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Netherlands?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $5.13 in Netherlands (≈ 4.54 EUR), versus about $1.93 in Philippines.
- **How much is rent in Netherlands compared to Philippines?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,433/month in Netherlands versus $414/month in Philippines (+246%). 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=PH&target=NL.

---

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