---
title: "Cost of Living: Seoul vs Manila — Geo-Parity"
description: "Philippines is 49% cheaper than South Korea for monthly essentials ($685 vs $1,334). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-south-korea/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=KR&target=PH"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · KR vs PH

# 🇰🇷 Seoul vs 🇵🇭 Manila: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$1,334** in South Korea vs **$685** in Philippines — 49% cheaper.

- **Essentials, South Korea**: $1,334/mo
- **Essentials, Philippines**: $685/mo
- **Difference**: -49%
- **1-bed city rent, Philippines**: $414/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in Philippines

- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -54%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -54%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -54%

Closest to South Korea prices

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -19%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -20%
- Running shoes (brand): -20%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | South Korea | Philippines | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $894 | $414 (23,794 PHP) | -54% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $715 | $331 (19,036 PHP) | -54% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,635 | $757 (43,510 PHP) | -54% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $10.62 | $5.80 (334 PHP) | -45% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $44.25 | $24.15 (1,389 PHP) | -45% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $6.81 | $3.93 (226 PHP) | -42% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.75 | $0.48 (28 PHP) | -36% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.18 | $1.40 (81 PHP) | -36% |
| Eggs, dozen | $2.32 | $1.49 (86 PHP) | -36% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $6.81 | $4.39 (252 PHP) | -36% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.73 | $1.75 (101 PHP) | -36% |
| Apples, 1kg | $3.27 | $2.11 (121 PHP) | -35% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $8.18 | $5.26 (302 PHP) | -36% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.36 | $0.88 (51 PHP) | -35% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $3.54 | $1.93 (111 PHP) | -45% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.60 | $5.30 (305 PHP) | -20% |
| Cappuccino | $2.95 | $1.61 (93 PHP) | -45% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.57 | $1.01 (58 PHP) | -36% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $40.24 | $23.21 (1,335 PHP) | -42% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.70 | $0.98 (56 PHP) | -42% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $2.36 | $1.29 (74 PHP) | -45% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.06 | $0.58 (33 PHP) | -45% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.78 | $0.63 (36 PHP) | -19% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $124 | $71.40 (4,106 PHP) | -42% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $43.33 | $24.99 (1,437 PHP) | -42% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $27.86 | $16.06 (924 PHP) | -42% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $29.50 | $16.10 (926 PHP) | -45% |
| Cinema seat | $8.26 | $4.51 (259 PHP) | -45% |
| Men's haircut | $17.70 | $9.66 (556 PHP) | -45% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $45.40 | $36.43 (2,095 PHP) | -20% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $74.29 | $59.61 (3,428 PHP) | -20% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $148 | $80.51 (4,630 PHP) | -45% |

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=KR&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 **3,002 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $2,316 | $253 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $797 | — |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 34.4% | — |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $1,058 | $86.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 2.6 | 0.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Seoul and Manila. | 76 | 2 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | 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. | 18 | 18 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 19.2 | 16.9 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 83.6 | 69.9 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.5 | 4.3 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 97.9% | 67.3% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 273.4 | 144.8 |

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

## Related

- [Reverse view: Philippines vs South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-south-korea/)
- [Fair salary: South Korea → Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/salary/south-korea-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

### South Korea compared with

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

### Moving to Philippines from

- [Portugal vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-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/)
- [Japan vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/japan-vs-philippines/)
- [Czechia vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/czechia-vs-philippines/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-philippines/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Philippines than South Korea?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $685 in Philippines versus $1,334 in South Korea — 49% 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 $3.54 in South Korea.
- **How much is rent in Philippines compared to South Korea?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $414/month in Philippines versus $894/month in South Korea (-54%). 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=KR&target=PH.

---

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