Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bambous and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Bambous: $537 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

26

Cost of Living Index in Bambous
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Bambous Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Bambous

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$537

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bambous 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 Bambous and in Cebu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $537 in Bambous versus $918 in Cebu.

Bambous $537
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $901 in Bambous versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Bambous $901
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,265 in Bambous versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Bambous $1,265
Cebu $1,900

Living in Bambous costs roughly 41% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bambous 60% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.16 MUR 196

$3.09 ₱194

34.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.24 MUR 1,753

$24.22 ₱1,525

53.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.26 MUR 201

$3.92 ₱247

8.67%

Cappuccino

$2.14 MUR 101

$2.51 ₱158

-14.74%

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

$1.02 MUR 48.07

$1.59 ₱100

-35.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 MUR 19.06

$0.53 ₱33.43

-24.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 MUR 125

$1.78 ₱112

48.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 MUR 73.6

$2.17 ₱137

-28.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 MUR 54.1

$1.92 ₱121

-40.10%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 MUR 33.68

$1.36 ₱85.4

-47.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 MUR 50.4

$1.01 ₱63.5

5.94%

Eggs

$2.45 MUR 115

$2.03 ₱128

20.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.31 MUR 250

$9.86 ₱621

-46.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.14 MUR 148

$4.39 ₱277

-28.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.15 MUR 195

$7.60 ₱479

-45.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.13 MUR 100

$3.30 ₱208

-35.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.66 MUR 125

$1.39 ₱87.8

91.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 MUR 67.6

$2.33 ₱147

-38.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 MUR 136

$1.50 ₱94.3

92.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 MUR 46.53

$2.36 ₱149

-58.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 MUR 46.58

$1.90 ₱119

-47.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 MUR 32.59

$1.19 ₱74.9

-42.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 MUR 39.14

$0.63 ₱39.71

31.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.49 MUR 306

$3.00 ₱189

116.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.35 MUR 393

$6.03 ₱379

38.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MUR 79.5

$1.23 ₱77.7

37.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 MUR 111

$1.75 ₱110

34.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.19 MUR 197

$0.77 ₱48.62

444.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.23 MUR 152

$0.23 ₱14.53

1304.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.46 MUR 1,010

$4.46 ₱281

381.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 MUR 65.4

$1.31 ₱82.8

6.11%

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

$36.9K MUR 1.7M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

73.59%

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

$30.9K MUR 1.5M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

61.18%

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

$44.49 MUR 2,095

$120 ₱7,569

-63.00%

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

$10.50 MUR 494

$14.00 ₱882

-25.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.85 MUR 1,358

$27.54 ₱1,734

4.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$6.18 MUR 291

$5.65 ₱356

9.38%

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

$124 MUR 5,861

$275 ₱17.3K

-54.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,510 MUR 353.6K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-5.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.0 MUR 3,624

$49.33 ₱3,106

56.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$72.3 MUR 3,403

$25.24 ₱1,589

186.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 MUR 5,646

$77.0 ₱4,846

55.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.4 MUR 3,598

$57.2 ₱3,601

33.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

7.2

-7.36%

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

Last update for Bambous: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bambous

$171 31.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 20.3% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Bambous

$156 29%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 39.6% $62

Eating Out

Bambous

$94 17.5%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 5.9% $5.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bambous

$84 15.6%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 93% $78

Getting Around

Bambous

$20 * 3.8%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 23.4% $4.8

Sport & Entertainment

Bambous

$12 * 2.3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 253% $31

Accommodation & Living

Bambous

- * 0%

Cebu

$309 33.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $37.00 in Bambous vs $24.00 in Cebu. Groceries flip the comparison at $171 vs $206, with Bambous cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇺 Bambous

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

21:05 9:05 PM

4 h ahead of Bambous

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,300

964,169

💱 Currency

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇺 Mauritian Rupee (₨)

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bambous Cebu 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bambous
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

Bambous vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bambous and Cebu differ by about 71% in total monthly costs ($537 vs $918 including rent). Bambous is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $805 in Bambous and $1,377 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.

Childcare runs $124 in Bambous versus $275 in Cebu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Bambous – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $24.00 in Cebu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Bambous gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Bambous 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 Bambous gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.