Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Asmara and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,402 in Asmara, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. The total is higher in Asmara despite lower rent and utilities.

67

Cost of Living Index in Asmara
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Asmara Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Asmara

🇪🇷 Eritrea

$1,402

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Asmara and in Cebu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Asmara and in Cebu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,402 in Asmara versus $934 in Cebu.

Asmara $1,402
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,192 in Asmara versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Asmara $2,192
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,983 in Asmara versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Asmara $2,983
Cebu $1,896

Living in Asmara is roughly 50% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Asmara is 5% above, Cebu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.83 ERN 313

$3.03 ₱190

587.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.92 ERN 509

$23.48 ₱1,473

44.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.04 ERN 90.7

$4.09 ₱256

47.68%

Cappuccino

$0.77 ERN 11.54

$2.52 ₱158

-69.44%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 ERN 14.60

$1.54 ₱96.9

-37.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 ERN 15.28

$0.49 ₱30.98

108.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.62 ERN 9.30

$1.79 ₱112

-65.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ERN 24.67

$1.95 ₱122

-15.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 ERN 35.01

$1.02 ₱63.8

128.43%

Eggs

$4.34 ERN 65.3

$2.06 ₱129

110.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.98 ERN 44.76

$9.81 ₱615

-69.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$26.73 ERN 401

$4.61 ₱289

479.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.11 ERN 152

$7.70 ₱483

31.30%

Apples (1kg)

$12.28 ERN 184

$3.31 ₱207

271.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 ERN 19.79

$1.45 ₱90.9

-8.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 ERN 29.31

$2.36 ₱148

-17.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 ERN 17.05

$1.54 ₱96.4

-25.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 ERN 26.40

$2.36 ₱148

-25.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ERN 14.26

$1.99 ₱125

-52.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 ERN 33.91

$0.67 ₱42.15

237.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

Wine (Bottle)

$11.87 ERN 178

$6.35 ₱398

86.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 ERN 14.76

$1.31 ₱81.9

-25.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 ERN 15.27

$1.73 ₱108

-41.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.14 ERN 2.13

$0.25 ₱15.78

-44.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 ERN 123

$12.65 ₱793

-35.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ERN 8.62

$0.21 ₱13.11

171.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.84 ERN 148

$4.33 ₱271

127.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.52 ERN 37.88

$1.33 ₱83.5

89.47%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$66.4K ERN 997.5K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

205.13%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$68.8K ERN 1.0M

$19.4K ₱1.2M

254.82%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$25.13 ERN 377

$121 ₱7,563

-79.16%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$68.7 ERN 1,032

$14.45 ₱907

375.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$202 ERN 3,031

$28.29 ₱1,774

613.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.72 ERN 401

$32.68 ₱2,050

-18.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.91 ERN 73.8

$6.39 ₱401

-23.16%

Cinema Ticket

$1.22 ERN 18.40

$5.46 ₱342

-77.66%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$24.69 ERN 371

$273 ₱17.1K

-90.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,594 ERN 39.0K

$8,156 ₱511.5K

-68.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$136 ERN 2,039

$49.57 ₱3,109

173.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$120 ERN 1,800

$24.87 ₱1,560

381.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$203 ERN 3,056

$76.6 ₱4,804

165.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$152 ERN 2,276

$59.3 ₱3,717

155.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$246 ERN 3,700

$506 ₱31.7K

-51.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$199 ERN 2,988

$309 ₱19.4K

-35.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$457 ERN 6,867

$1,052 ₱66.0K

-56.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$432 ERN 6,488

$619 ₱38.8K

-30.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,284 ERN 19.3K

$2,915 ₱182.9K

-55.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,487 ERN 37.4K

$1,867 ₱117.1K

33.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

66.67%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Asmara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Asmara

$364 * 26.4%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 42.2% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Asmara

$296 21.4%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 44.8% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Asmara

$275 19.9%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 65.6% $180

Eating Out

Asmara

$205 * 14.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 56.9% $117

Accommodation & Living

Asmara

$199 14.4%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 55.6% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Asmara

$29 2.1%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 49.5% $14

Getting Around

Asmara

$12 * 0.8%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 33% $3.8

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $246 in Asmara and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $34.00 in Asmara vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $364 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇷 Asmara

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

09:13 9:13 AM

14:13 2:13 PM

5 h ahead of Asmara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

579,000 Capital

964,169

💱 Currency

Eritrean Nakfa ERN ናቕፋ

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 ERN = 6.66 USD

100 ERN = 5.94 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to ERN – Eritrean Nakfa Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇷 Eritrean Nakfa (ናቕፋ)

Eritrean Nakfa exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 15.02 ERN (100 ERN = 6.66 USD). 1 EUR = 16.85 ERN (100 ERN = 5.94 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to ERN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Asmara Cebu 9,170 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Asmara
Cebu

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Asmara vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Asmara and Cebu differ by about 50% in total monthly costs ($1,402 vs $934 including rent). Cebu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,103 in Asmara and $1,401 in Cebu to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $246 in Asmara versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 55% less than in Asmara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $24.69 in Asmara versus $273 in Cebu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,402 in Asmara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Asmara. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Asmara and Cebu are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Asmara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.