---
title: "Cost of Living: Dubai vs Manila — Geo-Parity"
description: "Philippines is 55% cheaper than United Arab Emirates for monthly essentials ($685 vs $1,519). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-united-arab-emirates/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=AE&target=PH"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · AE vs PH

# 🇦🇪 Dubai vs 🇵🇭 Manila: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$1,519** in United Arab Emirates vs **$685** in Philippines — 55% cheaper.

- **Essentials, United Arab Emirates**: $1,519/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 United Arab Emirates prices

- Running shoes (brand): -23%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -23%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -23%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | United Arab Emirates | Philippines | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $1,037 | $414 (23,794 PHP) | -60% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $829 | $331 (19,036 PHP) | -60% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,896 | $757 (43,510 PHP) | -60% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $11.93 | $5.80 (334 PHP) | -51% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $49.71 | $24.15 (1,389 PHP) | -51% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $7.57 | $3.93 (226 PHP) | -48% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.82 | $0.48 (28 PHP) | -41% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.37 | $1.40 (81 PHP) | -41% |
| Eggs, dozen | $2.52 | $1.49 (86 PHP) | -41% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $7.41 | $4.39 (252 PHP) | -41% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.97 | $1.75 (101 PHP) | -41% |
| Apples, 1kg | $3.56 | $2.11 (121 PHP) | -41% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $8.90 | $5.26 (302 PHP) | -41% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.48 | $0.88 (51 PHP) | -41% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $3.98 | $1.93 (111 PHP) | -52% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.89 | $5.30 (305 PHP) | -23% |
| Cappuccino | $3.31 | $1.61 (93 PHP) | -51% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.71 | $1.01 (58 PHP) | -41% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $44.72 | $23.21 (1,335 PHP) | -48% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.89 | $0.98 (56 PHP) | -48% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $2.65 | $1.29 (74 PHP) | -51% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.19 | $0.58 (33 PHP) | -51% |
| 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 | $48.16 | $24.99 (1,437 PHP) | -48% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $30.96 | $16.06 (924 PHP) | -48% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $33.14 | $16.10 (926 PHP) | -51% |
| Cinema seat | $9.28 | $4.51 (259 PHP) | -51% |
| Men's haircut | $19.88 | $9.66 (556 PHP) | -51% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $47.36 | $36.43 (2,095 PHP) | -23% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $77.50 | $59.61 (3,428 PHP) | -23% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $166 | $80.51 (4,630 PHP) | -51% |

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=AE&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 **7,263 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $2,742 | $253 |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $232 | $86.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.0 | 0.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Dubai and Manila. | 79 | 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. | 2.2 (low) | 5.3 (high) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | — | 18 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 34.3 | 16.9 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 83.1 | 69.9 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.7 | 4.3 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 100% | 67.3% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 201.6 | 144.8 |

## The whole United Arab Emirates → 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 United Arab Emirates → Philippines report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/united-arab-emirates-to-philippines/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Philippines vs United Arab Emirates](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-united-arab-emirates/)
- [Fair salary: United Arab Emirates → Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/salary/united-arab-emirates-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

### United Arab Emirates compared with

- [United Arab Emirates vs Colombia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-colombia/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Türkiye](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-turkiye/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Malaysia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-malaysia/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs South Africa](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-south-africa/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Thailand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-thailand/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Vietnam](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-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/)
- [Japan vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/japan-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/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Philippines than United Arab Emirates?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $685 in Philippines versus $1,519 in United Arab Emirates — 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 $3.98 in United Arab Emirates.
- **How much is rent in Philippines compared to United Arab Emirates?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $414/month in Philippines versus $1,037/month in United Arab Emirates (-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=AE&target=PH.

---

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