Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Binjai and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Binjai: $638 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Binjai
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Binjai Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Binjai

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$638

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $638 in Binjai versus $934 in Cebu.

Binjai $638
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,029 in Binjai versus $1,423 in Cebu.

Binjai $1,029
Cebu $1,423

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,421 in Binjai versus $1,913 in Cebu.

Binjai $1,421
Cebu $1,913

Living in Binjai costs roughly 32% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Binjai 53% lower, Cebu 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.80 Rp 32.7K

$3.79 ₱242

-52.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.06 Rp 273.7K

$23.33 ₱1,491

-35.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.81 Rp 51.1K

$3.94 ₱252

-28.68%

Cappuccino

$1.33 Rp 24.2K

$2.54 ₱163

-47.64%

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

$0.48 Rp 8,725

$1.57 ₱100

-69.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 Rp 3,646

$0.47 ₱29.82

-57.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.49 Rp 45.2K

$1.77 ₱113

40.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 Rp 56.7K

$2.22 ₱142

40.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 Rp 18.9K

$1.90 ₱121

-45.26%

White Bread (500g)

$0.94 Rp 17.0K

$1.36 ₱87.1

-30.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 Rp 14.6K

$0.94 ₱59.8

-14.89%

Eggs

$1.25 Rp 22.7K

$1.99 ₱127

-37.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.22 Rp 113.1K

$9.70 ₱620

-35.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.15 Rp 57.2K

$4.32 ₱276

-27.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.48 Rp 136.0K

$7.51 ₱480

-0.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.43 Rp 44.2K

$3.31 ₱211

-26.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.7K

$1.37 ₱87.5

-5.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 Rp 32.2K

$2.34 ₱149

-24.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.25 Rp 22.7K

$1.49 ₱95.4

-16.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 Rp 25.5K

$2.30 ₱147

-39.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 Rp 35.6K

$1.87 ₱120

4.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$1.10 ₱70.3

-26.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 Rp 6,999

$0.63 ₱40.36

-38.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.43 Rp 44.2K

$2.86 ₱183

-15.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.59 Rp 392.4K

$6.08 ₱389

255.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 Rp 36.6K

$1.27 ₱81.4

58.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 Rp 58.1K

$1.72 ₱110

86.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 Rp 3,857

$0.22 ₱13.99

-4.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.00 Rp 181.7K

$12.34 ₱788

-18.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,527

$0.74 ₱47.53

-36.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 Rp 6,525

$0.22 ₱14.08

63.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.18 Rp 57.7K

$4.28 ₱273

-25.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 Rp 17.0K

$1.31 ₱83.7

-28.24%

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

$20.3K Rp 369.8M

$20.8K ₱1.3M

-2.02%

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

$30.1K Rp 547.2M

$19.0K ₱1.2M

58.06%

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

$68.7 Rp 1.2M

$118 ₱7,565

-42.00%

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

$3.91 Rp 71.0K

$15.76 ₱1,007

-75.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.11 Rp 329.1K

$28.33 ₱1,810

-36.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.19 Rp 367.0K

$32.94 ₱2,105

-38.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.73 Rp 158.7K

$6.49 ₱415

34.51%

Cinema Ticket

$2.88 Rp 52.4K

$5.45 ₱348

-47.16%

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

$105 Rp 1.9M

$276 ₱17.6K

-62.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,060 Rp 146.5M

$7,789 ₱497.7K

3.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.93 Rp 780.3K

$48.18 ₱3,078

-10.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.03 Rp 491.3K

$24.47 ₱1,564

10.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.1 Rp 1.5M

$75.3 ₱4,810

11.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.7 Rp 1.1M

$58.0 ₱3,707

8.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$204 Rp 3.7M

$477 ₱30.5K

-57.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$156 Rp 2.8M

$322 ₱20.6K

-51.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$495 Rp 9.0M

$963 ₱61.5K

-48.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$411 Rp 7.5M

$626 ₱40.0K

-34.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,207 Rp 21.9M

$4,551 ₱290.8K

-73.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$752 Rp 13.7M

$3,028 ₱193.5K

-75.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$333 ₱21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

7.2

31.39%

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

Last update for Binjai: October 24, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Binjai

$194 30.4%

Cebu

$204 21.8% 5.1% $9.9

Accommodation & Living

Binjai

$156 24.5%

Cebu

$322 34.5% 106% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Binjai

$98 15.3%

Cebu

$93 9.9% 5% $4.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Binjai

$91 14.2%

Cebu

$163 17.4% 79.2% $72

Eating Out

Binjai

$60 9.4%

Cebu

$94 10.1% 56.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Binjai

$26 4.1%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 68.9% $18

Getting Around

Binjai

$13 2.1%

Cebu

$15 1.6% 14.9% $2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $204 in Binjai and $477 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $15 in Binjai vs $23 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $204 per month, with Binjai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Binjai

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

04:46 4:46 AM

05:46 5:46 AM

1 h ahead of Binjai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

267,901

964,169

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Binjai Cebu 2,900 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Binjai
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

Binjai vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Binjai is about 32% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $956 in Binjai 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: $204 in Binjai versus $477 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $638 per month in Binjai versus $934 in Cebu – Binjai is about 32% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Binjai runs roughly 19% less than in Cebu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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.

Expats usually find Binjai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.