Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bhilai and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Bhilai: $326 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

16

Cost of Living Index in Bhilai
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Bhilai Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Bhilai

🇮🇳 India

$326

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $326 in Bhilai versus $918 in Cebu.

Bhilai $326
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $555 in Bhilai versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Bhilai $555
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $784 in Bhilai versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Bhilai $784
Cebu $1,900

Living in Bhilai costs roughly 64% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bhilai 76% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.59 ₹246

$3.09 ₱194

-16.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$9.13 ₹867

$24.22 ₱1,525

-62.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.09 ₹293

$3.92 ₱247

-21.17%

Cappuccino

$1.97 ₹187

$2.51 ₱158

-21.51%

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

$0.29 ₹27.28

$1.59 ₱100

-81.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 ₹18.62

$0.53 ₱33.43

-62.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 ₹147

$1.78 ₱112

-12.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 ₹271

$2.17 ₱137

31.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.51 ₹48.54

$1.92 ₱121

-73.44%

White Bread (500g)

$0.35 ₹33.68

$1.36 ₱85.4

-74.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 ₹60.0

$1.01 ₱63.5

-37.62%

Eggs

$0.95 ₹90.2

$2.03 ₱128

-53.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.13 ₹392

$9.86 ₱621

-58.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.88 ₹273

$4.39 ₱277

-34.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 ₹219

$3.30 ₱208

-30.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.57 ₹54.3

$1.39 ₱87.8

-58.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.87 ₹83.0

$2.33 ₱147

-62.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.44 ₹41.59

$1.50 ₱94.3

-70.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 ₹36.44

$2.36 ₱149

-83.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 ₹45.82

$1.90 ₱119

-74.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 ₹23.54

$1.19 ₱74.9

-78.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.29 ₹27.38

$0.63 ₱39.71

-53.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.10 ₹484

$3.00 ₱189

70.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.58 ₹435

$6.03 ₱379

-24.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 ₹156

$1.23 ₱77.7

33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 ₹252

$1.75 ₱110

51.43%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$3.83 ₹364

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ₹36.12

$0.25 ₱15.86

52.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.62 ₹629

$12.64 ₱796

-47.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.06 ₹101

$0.77 ₱48.62

37.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₹20.91

$0.23 ₱14.53

-4.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 ₹176

$4.46 ₱281

-58.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ₹104

$1.31 ₱82.8

-16.03%

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

$11.7K ₹1.1M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

-44.74%

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

$18.4K ₹1.7M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

-3.87%

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

$31.51 ₹2,992

$120 ₱7,569

-73.79%

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

$3.12 ₹297

$14.00 ₱882

-77.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$4.74 ₹450

$27.54 ₱1,734

-82.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$6.97 ₹662

$32.33 ₱2,035

-78.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.20 ₹303

$6.65 ₱419

-51.88%

Cinema Ticket

$3.46 ₹329

$5.65 ₱356

-38.76%

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

$80.2 ₹7,617

$275 ₱17.3K

-70.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,061 ₹100.7K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-86.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.55 ₹2,236

$49.33 ₱3,106

-52.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.89 ₹2,744

$25.24 ₱1,589

14.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$23.92 ₹2,272

$77.0 ₱4,846

-68.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$23.95 ₹2,275

$57.2 ₱3,601

-58.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$72.1 ₹6,842

$500 ₱31.5K

-85.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$56.5 ₹5,361

$309 ₱19.4K

-81.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$259 ₹24.6K

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-75.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$206 ₹19.6K

$615 ₱38.7K

-66.51%

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)

$651 ₹61.8K

$346 ₱21.8K

88.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.82

7.2

22.50%

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

Last update for Bhilai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bhilai

$92 28.1%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 125% $114

Eating Out

Bhilai

$69 21.2%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 27.9% $19

Accommodation & Living

Bhilai

$56 17.3%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 447% $252

Clothing & Footwear

Bhilai

$45 13.9%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 108% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bhilai

$39 12.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 311% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Bhilai

$14 4.3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 214% $30

Getting Around

Bhilai

$10 3.2%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 51% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $72.1 in Bhilai and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bhilai pays 88% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $9.00 in Bhilai vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $92.0 vs $206 per month, with Bhilai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Bhilai

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

21:56 9:56 PM

00:26 12:26 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bhilai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

627,734

964,169

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bhilai Cebu 4,690 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bhilai
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

Bhilai vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bhilai and Cebu differ by about 182% in total monthly costs ($326 vs $918 including rent). Bhilai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 88% higher in Bhilai, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $72.1 in Bhilai versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $80.2 in Bhilai versus $275 in Cebu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 125% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Bhilai 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, Bhilai 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 Bhilai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 182% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.