Manilavs
StockholmManila vs Stockholm: cost, size & quality of life compared
Trying to decide between Manila and Stockholm? Here's the honest bottom line first — then the full, sourced breakdown on cost of living, salary, safety and quality of life.
Stockholm comes out ahead overall — by a clear margin.
But the "winner" depends on what you care about. Here's who takes each dimension:
StockholmManilaStockholmStockholmComposite scores
Overall: Stockholm wins by 1.3 points
Population & size
Is Manila bigger than Stockholm?
Manila is the bigger city: about 1.8M people versus Stockholm's 975k — roughly 1.8× larger.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
National income
Is Manila richer than Stockholm?
The two sit on different measures, so we are not ranking them: Philippines is reported as income per capita (GNI, PPP) ($13,330), Sweden as average annual wage ($60,415). A full-time wage and a whole-population income per head are not the same quantity.
Country-level figures — Manila is not Philippines and Stockholm is not Sweden, and both cities typically pay above their national average. Gross, before tax: see take-home pay by country for what lands in the account.
Distance
How far is Manila from Stockholm?
Manila is about 9,330 km (5,800 mi) from Stockholm in a straight line — roughly 11 h 45 m of nonstop flight time.
Great-circle distance, not a routed itinerary; flight estimate assumes ~850 km/h cruise plus 45 minutes of taxi, climb and descent.
Climate
Is Manila warmer than Stockholm?
Manila is the warmer city: January highs average 30°C vs -1°C, and July 31°C vs 22°C. Manila gets noticeably more sun — about 280 more sunshine hours per year.
| Month | Manila | Stockholm |
|---|---|---|
| January (high / low) | 30° / 22°C | -1° / -5°C |
| July (high / low) | 31° / 25°C | 22° / 13°C |
Tropical monsoon — hot all year, typhoon-season rains Jun-Nov can shut the city down. Dec-Feb is the dry, marginally cooler window.
Cold dark winters (6h daylight in December), bright warm summers with very long days. Mood/seasonal effect is real — consider it.
Stockholm edges Manila by the narrowest margin—0.1 points—suggesting two cities with fundamentally similar living conditions despite vastly different geographies and climates.
Both cities score in the low 5s, placing them in the middle tier globally; the separation here matters less than what separates either from true laggards or leaders.
If you're choosing between these two, focus on lifestyle fit and career opportunities rather than score differentials—they're statistically equivalent on whatever metric matters most.
Data signals
What separates Manila and Stockholm
How decisive
Stockholm comes out ahead by 1.3 composite points — a clear edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is healthcare, where Stockholm leads by 3.8 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on remote-work friendliness — within 0.6 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in Stockholm run about 164% higher than in Manila.
Where budgets split most
Transport is the line item that diverges most: roughly 725% pricier in Stockholm than Manila.
Size difference
Manila is the larger metro — about 1.8× the population of the other, which shapes commute times, housing supply and how "big-city" daily life feels.
Home internet
Stockholm has the faster typical broadband (150 vs 60 Mbps median) — worth weighing if you work remotely or move large files.
Safety
Stockholm scores higher on safety (70 vs 35 / 100) — a common deciding factor for families.
Score-by-score, side-by-side
Each axis is scored independently with disclosed weights and a calculation string.
The exact scores and winners:
| Axis | Manila | Stockholm | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 8.3 | 5.7 | Manila +2.6 |
| Quality of life | 4.3 | 7.7 | Stockholm +3.4 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 5.5 | 6.1 | Stockholm +0.6 |
| Healthcare | 3.8 | 7.6 | Stockholm +3.8 |
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)20
- Rent index (weight 40%)13
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Manila: ((100 − 20)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 13)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 8.3.
Manila sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)35
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)54
- Air quality index (weight 25%)40
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Manila: (35/100 × 0.4 + 54/100 × 0.35 + 40/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 4.3.
Manila has a mixed quality profile. Safety: fair; healthcare: fair; air: fair. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)60 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)12.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)20
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Manila: (min(60/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.12) × 0.3 + (100 − 20)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.5.
Manila works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 60 Mbps, income tax 12%, cost index 20.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)54
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)1728
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Manila: (54/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 1728/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 3.8.
Manila has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is fair, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~1728 PHP/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)47
- Rent index (weight 40%)37
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Stockholm: ((100 − 47)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 37)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 5.7.
Stockholm is mid-range on absolute cost. Affordability is reasonable but not its main advantage.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)70
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)82
- Air quality index (weight 25%)80
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Stockholm: (70/100 × 0.4 + 82/100 × 0.35 + 80/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 7.7.
Stockholm scores good on safety, excellent on healthcare and excellent on air. The composite quality-of-life signal is strong.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)150 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)16.9%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)47
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Stockholm: (min(150/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.169) × 0.3 + (100 − 47)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 6.1.
Stockholm works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 150 Mbps, income tax 17%, cost index 47.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)82
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)191
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Stockholm: (82/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 191/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 7.6.
Stockholm combines excellent system quality with a manageable out-of-pocket cost (~191 SEK/month). Travel insurance still recommended for non-residents.
Monthly cost delta: Manila vs Stockholm
Normalized to PHP at 1 SEK = 6.2241 PHP.
| Category | Manila | Stockholm | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | ₱33,243 | SEK 16,803 | +215% |
| food | ₱12,669 | SEK 5,088 | +150% |
| transport | ₱800 | SEK 1,060 | +725% |
| utilities | ₱7,544 | SEK 2,705 | +123% |
| leisure | ₱13,821 | SEK 3,816 | +72% |
| healthcare | ₱1,728 | SEK 191 | -31% |
Where each city's money goes
Two cities can have the same monthly total but very different shapes — one might burn 50% on housing while the other splits more evenly. The composition matters as much as the headline.
The biggest shape difference is housing: Stockholm spends 9.0 percentage points more of its budget on it (57% vs. 48%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Buying property
Apartment prices: Manila vs Stockholm
Approximate asking prices in EUR per square meter (as of 2025-01), central vs mid-distance neighborhoods.
Buying in central Manila runs about 45% cheaper per square meter (€4,300/m² vs €7,800/m²).
Midpoints of public listing ranges — a scoping number for rent-vs-buy thinking, not a valuation. Renting comparisons live in the cost table above.
Getting around
Public transport: Manila vs Stockholm
Monthly pass and casual-ride pricing in EUR (as of 2025-01) plus the modes each network runs.
LRT-1/2 + MRT-3 elevated lines beat EDSA traffic when not at crush load; jeepneys and buses fill the grid. Beep card taps across rail lines.
Single ride: €0.48 · Modes: Light rail, Bus
SL access card covers metro + commuter rail + bus + tram + the inner-archipelago ferries.
Day pass: €14 · Modes: Metro, Tram, Bus, Commuter rail, Ferry
Salary equivalence: Manila ↔ Stockholm
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Manila = 20, Stockholm = 47); currency-converted at 1 SEK = 6.2241 PHP. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Manila gross | Stockholm equivalent |
|---|---|
| ₱40,000 | SEK 15,103 |
| ₱75,000 | SEK 28,317 |
| ₱120,000 | SEK 45,308 |
| Stockholm gross | Manila equivalent |
|---|---|
| SEK 40,000 | ₱105,942 |
| SEK 75,000 | ₱198,641 |
| SEK 120,000 | ₱317,826 |
Equivalence here means same cost-of-living purchasing power, not same net take-home. Effective tax rates differ between countries; a salary equivalent on cost can still net more or less depending on the destination's tax regime. Use the calculator for tax-adjusted figures at a specific lifestyle tier.
Pros and cons
Why pick Manila
- Wins on affordability (+2.6 points vs Stockholm).
Why pick Stockholm
- Wins on quality of life (+3.4 points vs Manila).
- Wins on remote-work friendliness (+0.6 points vs Manila).
- Wins on healthcare (+3.8 points vs Manila).
Manila trade-offs
- Trails Stockholm on quality of life by 3.4 points.
- Trails Stockholm on remote-work friendliness by 0.6 points.
- Trails Stockholm on healthcare by 3.8 points.
Stockholm trade-offs
- Trails Manila on affordability by 2.6 points.
Remote work logistics
Time zones and language: Manila vs Stockholm
Manila (Asia/Manila) and Stockholm (Europe/Stockholm) sit 7 hours apart in standard time. A 9-to-5 in one overlaps the other's for 1 hour a day. Note: Stockholm observes daylight saving while Manila doesn't, so the gap shifts by an hour part of the year.
Official: Filipino, English · English: Native-equivalent · Local language: Not needed
English is co-official, the language of business, law and education — the Philippines' core BPO advantage. Taglish is the street blend; English alone is fully functional.
Official: Swedish · English: Native-equivalent · Local language: Not needed
Among the most English-friendly cities globally. Swedish is helpful for long-term integration but daily life and most workplaces function fully in English.
Who should choose which
The composite winner doesn't always match what matters to you. These four reader profiles weigh the axes differently — find the closest fit.
Single, salaried remote worker, 25-40, optimizing for runway + bandwidth.
Axes scored: affordability, remoteWork
Couple with school-age children, prioritizing safety, healthcare, and air quality.
Axes scored: qualityOfLife, healthcare
Fixed income, healthcare-sensitive, prefers low cost and stable infrastructure.
Axes scored: healthcare, qualityOfLife, affordability
Salary stretch matters most. Cuts everything else if it lowers the burn rate.
Axes scored: affordability
Profiles use simple axis averaging — for a deeper read with your own weights, use the per-axis breakdown above.
Going deeper
Visa landscape for both countries — and case studies that touch this corridor.
Tools that work for either choice
Some links below are affiliate links — if you sign up we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
How this page is calculated
Data sources
- Mundevo per-city dataset. Cost basket, rent index, safety, healthcare, air quality and median internet for both cities. Reference date: 2026-06-10 (Manila) and 2026-05-28 (Stockholm).
- FX rate. 1 SEK = 6.2241 PHP, used to normalize cost baskets.
- CityScoreCalculator. Four axes (Affordability, Quality of life, Remote work, Healthcare) computed with explicit weights and explanations. See per-axis calculation strings rendered on this page.
- ComparisonService. Per-category cost deltas (housing, food, transport, utilities, leisure, healthcare) normalized to the origin currency.
Update cadence
Data as of . Last reviewed .
Calculation
For each of the four axes we compute an independent 0–10 score using the formulas printed beside each axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes. The overall winner is the city with the higher composite, unless the margin is under 0.05 points — in which case Manila is shown first as a tiebreaker to keep results stable.
Limitations
- Climate is not scored — we don't yet hold a maintained climate dataset, so weather-driven preferences are not modeled.
- Tax differences between cities in the same country are not modeled (Spain and Germany don't have material regional differences for this dataset).
- Indices are population-level. Personal cost varies with neighborhood, employer benefits and family status.
- Quality-of-life axis weights (safety 0.4 / healthcare 0.35 / air 0.25) are editorial defaults — readers with strong preferences should re-weight manually.
Frequently asked questions
Manila vs Stockholm: which is cheaper?
Manila is roughly 164% cheaper than Stockholm on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Manila has cost index 20 vs Stockholm at 47 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Manila scores 5.5/10 on the Mundevo composite versus Stockholm at 6.8/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). Stockholm wins overall by 1.3 points.
Is Manila or Stockholm better for remote work?
Manila has 60 Mbps median internet vs Stockholm at 150 Mbps. The four-axis decision rubric on this page (affordability, quality of life, remote work, healthcare) gives a per-dimension breakdown rather than a single answer.
Is Manila bigger than Stockholm?
Manila is larger — about 1.8M people versus Stockholm's 975k, roughly 1.8× the size.
Is Manila safer than Stockholm?
Stockholm scores higher on safety — 70 vs 35 / 100 on the Mundevo safety index (crime and personal-security signals).
Should I move to Manila or Stockholm?
It depends on what you weight. Stockholm wins the overall Mundevo composite by 1.3 points, but Manila is cheaper, and the two split differently across affordability, quality of life, remote work and healthcare. Use the per-axis table and the reader-profile section above to match the verdict to your own priorities.