---
title: "Cost of Living: Da Nang vs Manila — Geo-Parity"
description: "Philippines is 25% more expensive than Vietnam for monthly essentials ($685 vs $548). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/philippines-vs-vietnam/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=VN&target=PH"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · VN vs PH

# 🇻🇳 Da Nang vs 🇵🇭 Manila: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$548** in Vietnam vs **$685** in Philippines — 25% more expensive.

- **Essentials, Vietnam**: $548/mo
- **Essentials, Philippines**: $685/mo
- **Difference**: +25%
- **1-bed city rent, Philippines**: $414/mo

## Biggest differences

Smallest premium in Philippines

- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: +7.7%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): +7.8%
- Running shoes (brand): +7.8%

Pricier in Philippines

- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +30%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +30%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +30%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | Vietnam | Philippines | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $318 | $414 (23,794 PHP) | +30% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $255 | $331 (19,036 PHP) | +30% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $582 | $757 (43,510 PHP) | +30% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $4.72 | $5.80 (334 PHP) | +23% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $19.66 | $24.15 (1,389 PHP) | +23% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $3.26 | $3.93 (226 PHP) | +21% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.42 | $0.48 (28 PHP) | +14% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.21 | $1.40 (81 PHP) | +16% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.28 | $1.49 (86 PHP) | +16% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $3.78 | $4.39 (252 PHP) | +16% |
| White rice, 1kg | $1.51 | $1.75 (101 PHP) | +16% |
| Apples, 1kg | $1.81 | $2.11 (121 PHP) | +17% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $4.53 | $5.26 (302 PHP) | +16% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $0.76 | $0.88 (51 PHP) | +16% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $1.57 | $1.93 (111 PHP) | +23% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $4.92 | $5.30 (305 PHP) | +7.7% |
| Cappuccino | $1.31 | $1.61 (93 PHP) | +23% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $0.87 | $1.01 (58 PHP) | +16% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $19.24 | $23.21 (1,335 PHP) | +21% |
| Public transport, one-way | $0.81 | $0.98 (56 PHP) | +21% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.05 | $1.29 (74 PHP) | +23% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.47 | $0.58 (33 PHP) | +23% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.58 | $0.63 (36 PHP) | +8.6% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $59.20 | $71.40 (4,106 PHP) | +21% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $20.72 | $24.99 (1,437 PHP) | +21% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $13.32 | $16.06 (924 PHP) | +21% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $13.10 | $16.10 (926 PHP) | +23% |
| Cinema seat | $3.67 | $4.51 (259 PHP) | +23% |
| Men's haircut | $7.86 | $9.66 (556 PHP) | +23% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $33.80 | $36.43 (2,095 PHP) | +7.8% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $55.30 | $59.61 (3,428 PHP) | +7.8% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $65.52 | $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=VN&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 **1,706 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $230 | $253 |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $77.00 | $86.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 1.1 | 0.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Da Nang and Manila. | 41 | 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 (medium) | 5.3 (high) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 4 | 18 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 22.9 | 16.9 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 74.7 | 69.9 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | — | 4.3 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 84.2% | 67.3% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 189.8 | 144.8 |

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

## Related

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

### Vietnam compared with

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

### Moving to Philippines from

- [Thailand vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/thailand-vs-philippines/)
- [Indonesia vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/indonesia-vs-philippines/)
- [Malaysia vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/malaysia-vs-philippines/)
- [India vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/india-vs-philippines/)
- [Colombia vs Philippines](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/colombia-vs-philippines/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much more expensive is Philippines than Vietnam?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $685 in Philippines versus $548 in Vietnam — 25% more. 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 $1.57 in Vietnam.
- **How much is rent in Philippines compared to Vietnam?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $414/month in Philippines versus $318/month in Vietnam (+30%). 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=VN&target=PH.

---

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