Peso Watch
Two numbers decide how far every padala goes: what your dollar converts to, and what those pesos buy at the palengke. Here are both — dated, sourced, and updated automatically. No predictions; just the rate, prices back home, and what the combination means for the money you send.
The dollar is near the top of its 12-month range. A higher line means each dollar converts to more pesos.
12-month range: ₱57.56 (February 25, 2026) to ₱63.07 (October 15, 2026). Source: European Central Bank reference rates via frankfurter.dev.
| When | ₱ per $1 | $500 becomes | Change to today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today (October 19, 2026) | ₱63.00 | ₱31,499 | — |
| A month ago (September 18, 2026) | ₱62.80 | ₱31,402 | +0.3% |
| Six months ago (April 20, 2026) | ₱59.87 | ₱29,937 | +5.2% |
| A year ago (October 17, 2025) | ₱58.16 | ₱29,078 | +8.3% |
The exchange rate is only half the story — what matters is what those pesos buy. Over the last 12 months your dollar gained +8.3% in pesos, while prices in the Philippines rose 7.2%. Net effect: the real buying power of the same monthly padala is +1.1% — ahead of prices.
Philippine headline inflation, year-on-year change in the national CPI (all items, 2018=100). Source: Philippine Statistics Authority (OpenSTAT), latest release September 2026. Exchange-rate change measured October 19, 2026 vs. a year prior — the two readings are a few weeks apart by nature of PSA's monthly release schedule.
Is your padala keeping up?
Most families set an amount once — and never revisit it while prices move. Enter what you send (or the peso budget you agreed on) and when you set it; this computes what keeps your parents' buying power whole today, using PSA's price index and the actual exchange rates.
In September 2024, $500 bought about ₱28,029 (average rate then: ₱56.06/$). The same goods and services cost about ₱30,558 as of September 2026 — Philippine prices are +9.0% since then.
To match it today: $490/month
Precisely $485 — your current amount already covers it with $15 to spare. Right now your $500 converts to ₱31,499, which is +3.1% versus the original in real buying power.
Price adjustment uses the national all-items CPI (PSA, 2018=100) — a countrywide average. A retiree's real basket is heavier on food and medicines, which can run hotter than the average, and provinces differ from Metro Manila. Treat the number as the honest floor for the family conversation, not the final word — and if the budget itself changed (new medicines, a caregiver), that matters more than any index.
How to read this honestly
This is the mid-market rate — the benchmark banks trade at, and the fairest single number to watch. It is not what a remittance service gives you: every provider takes a margin below this rate, some far more than others. The number that actually matters is pesos received after that margin — compare providers at today's rates here.
And a plain word about timing: nobody can tell you where the rate goes next — anyone who says otherwise is selling something. What this page can tell you is where today sits in the last year, so a “the rate is great right now” text from a friend can be checked against the chart instead of taken on faith. For the bigger decisions — batching transfers, promo-rate traps, structuring monthly support — the sending-money guide covers what actually saves money at any exchange rate.
Updates automatically with every site rebuild — at least weekly, every Monday. If the date above is older than a week, tell us: something broke.