Cost of Living Calculator

What is the cost of living in the Philippines?

It is what a household pays to live: a roof, food, power and water, getting around, school, health care and the small things in between. It changes with how many people you feed, where you live and how you live, so no single figure fits every family.

For a sense of scale, the PSA’s 2023 family survey put the average spending of a Filipino family at ₱258,050 for the year, about ₱21,500 a month PSA FIES via GMA News 2023. That is the average of all families in the country, in cities and provinces, large and small. It is not a budget for a family in Metro Manila, and it is not a target.

How much does a family of four spend in Metro Manila?

There is no official figure for this, so the examples below use made-up amounts. Rent is the part that moves the most. With ₱10,000 rent, the family’s living costs come to ₱82,000 a month; with ₱30,000 rent, ₱102,000. Add ₱15,000 of savings and they need ₱97,000 to ₱117,000 a month.

Worked examples

Each example below is run through the same calculator at the top of this page. The figures are its output, not typed in by hand.

What are the biggest monthly household expenses?

For most renting families, rent and food are the two largest lines. Next come school, transport and the bills. A family that owns its home outright pays no rent, so food usually leads. The calculator ranks your own expenses and shows each one’s share, so you can see where your money goes rather than guess.

How does renting affect your monthly budget?

Rent is fixed every month, so it shapes everything else. A cheaper place further out can cost more in fares, fuel and time. Before you move, enter the rent and the commute for each place you are thinking about, and compare the totals. Save each one on this device to look at them side by side under “Your saved estimates”. Name a line “Rent” and the calculator also shows how many rentals on BalayKu are listed at that rent or less.

How to calculate your monthly household expenses

• Living costs a month = every expense you pay, rent or loan included.
• Budget needed a month = living costs + what you save.
• A year = a month × 12. A cost you pay once a year, like tuition or amilyar, counts as one-twelfth a month.

Savings are kept apart on purpose. Money you set aside is not money spent, and mixing the two hides how much living really costs you.

How to read your result

The dark box shows your living costs for a month, with the year, the cost for each person and your biggest expense under it. Below it are your savings and the budget you need, for a month and a year. “Where the money goes” ranks your expenses from the biggest down, with each one’s share of your living costs.

Enter your take-home pay and the calculator shows what is left after the budget, or how much you are short. Its colour tells you how much of your pay is left: green for 20% or more, orange for less than 20%, grey when you are about breaking even, and red when you are short.

Cost of living in Metro Manila vs the provinces

Rent is usually the biggest difference between a city and a province, then transport and eating out. Some costs move the other way: a province may mean longer trips, fewer schools to choose from, or a car you did not need before. Run the calculator once for each place with the costs you expect there, and compare the two totals.

How to reduce household expenses

• Start with the biggest expense. A small cut there does more than a big cut to a small one.
• Check rent and commute together. A place nearer work can cost less overall.
• Look at subscriptions, delivery and eating out; they add up quietly.
• Pay off the costliest debt first, such as a credit card.
• Put something into savings every month, even a small amount, before the rest is spent.