How much does it cost to live in the Philippines?

These are built from current prices, not from the old figures that still circulate online. They assume a furnished rental, air conditioning at night, and an exchange rate of PHP 63.5 to the dollar, the central bank's reference rate on November 4, 2026.

For a couple, the budgets use a 1 bedroom in the simple level and a 2 bedroom in the other two, and count health cover and visa fees for each person. The comfortable and premium couple budgets include a full time helper.

None of these include flights home. Add what you expect to spend on travel, divided by 12. They also leave out the money you need before the first month, covered further down.

There is no official rent data, so the figures here come from property market research and listings. The research firm Leechiu put average condo rents in the second quarter of 2026 at about PHP 1,105 per square meter a month in BGC, PHP 887 in Makati and PHP 729 in Ortigas. That works out roughly as follows:

This is a renter's market. About a quarter of Metro Manila condos stood empty in early 2026, and the research firm Colliers expects that share to rise by the end of the year. Asking rents are a starting point, so negotiate, especially on a longer lease.

• Expect to pay 1 month in advance plus 2 months as a deposit on a 1 year lease, so about 3 months of rent before you move in.
• Ask whether the rent includes the building's association dues. In BGC they run about PHP 90 to 150 per square meter a month.
• Parking, if you need it, is often a separate PHP 3,500 to 6,000 a month.

Meralco, which serves Metro Manila, charged PHP 15.06 per kilowatt hour for a typical home in October 2026. Cebu and Davao are in the same range. That makes Philippine electricity expensive by Asian standards, and air conditioning is what drives the bill.

A 1 horsepower inverter air conditioner running 8 hours a night uses about 113 kilowatt hours a month. On Meralco's rate that is about PHP 1,700 a month for each room you cool at night. Run it during the day as well, or cool two rooms, and it doubles. Choosing a unit with inverter air conditioners saves real money.

• Water is cheap. A typical small household bill in Metro Manila or Cebu is PHP 250 to 600 a month.
• Fiber internet runs from about PHP 1,300 a month for 100 Mbps to about PHP 2,700 for 1 Gbps. Some plans carry a 36 month contract, so read the terms if you might move.
• Mobile data costs PHP 300 to 500 a month for 30 to 60 GB on prepaid.

This is where your habits decide the number. Local food is cheap. Imported food costs what it costs at home, or more.

Those prices come from the Department of Agriculture's daily price monitoring. Imported goods at stores like S&R and Rustan's are a different world: American beef, cheese, cereal and peanut butter often cost more than in the US. A grocery cart built mainly on imports can easily cost two to four times a local one.

Eating out ranges just as widely. A fast food meal costs about PHP 185, a simple restaurant meal about PHP 300, and dinner for two at a mid range restaurant about PHP 1,700.

Most people in Metro Manila and Cebu rely on Grab, where a ride of a few kilometers costs roughly PHP 140 to 180, more at busy times. Jeepneys start at PHP 14. Gasoline was about PHP 83 to 84 a liter and diesel about PHP 94 in Metro Manila in late October 2026.

A car makes sense outside the big cities more than in them. A new small sedan such as a Toyota Vios costs about PHP 740,000 to 910,000, before insurance, parking and a driver if you hire one.

Many expats hire a household helper, called a kasambahay. The law (Republic Act 10361) sets a minimum monthly wage by region: PHP 7,800 in Metro Manila from February 2026, PHP 7,500 in Central Visayas, which includes Cebu, from October 2026, and PHP 6,500 in the Davao region. On top of the wage, the employer owes a 13th month payment and contributions to SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG. Most families pay above the minimum.

Health cover is the line that grows with age. PhilHealth, the national insurer, costs foreign residents PHP 15,000 or 17,000 a year under its 2017 rules, but pays only part of a private hospital bill. Private expat plans cost roughly US$50 to 130 a month around age 50 and US$110 to 310 a month after 65. The page on health insurance for expats explains the options.

Staying on tourist extensions costs roughly PHP 26,000 a year in fees. The retirement visa (SRRV) costs US$360 a year once you have it, but needs a deposit of US$15,000 to 50,000 and a US$1,500 processing fee to get it. The page on which visa you need compares the routes.

• About 3 months of rent for the advance and deposit.
• Visa costs: the SRRV deposit and fee if you take that route, or the first extensions.
• Anything the rental does not include: bedding, kitchen basics, a water filter, sometimes appliances.
• A cash cushion of at least 3 months of living costs, for hospital deposits and surprises.
• Your flight, and the cost of shipping or storing what you leave behind.

You will see $1,000 a month quoted often. It can be done, but only by one person, in a smaller city, living simply, without private health insurance and without flights home. Many of the pages that quote it are years old, use an exchange rate that no longer applies, and leave out air conditioning, health cover after 60, visa fees and the money needed upfront.

Crowd sourced cost sites have the same problem in a different form. Their numbers come from small groups of contributors and can vary by hundreds of dollars for the same city. Use them as a rough check, not a budget.

• Budgeting from an article written before 2026, when both prices and the exchange rate were different.
• Leaving out air conditioning when estimating the electricity bill.
• Assuming PhilHealth alone covers a hospital stay.
• Paying the asking rent without negotiating in an oversupplied market.
• Planning to live on imported food at local food prices.
• Forgetting that a couple pays health cover and visa fees twice.