Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Birmingham and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $2,500 in Birmingham, rent and utilities included – about $18,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Birmingham
Learn more

Birmingham Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

Jump to prices

Birmingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,500

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,500 per month in Birmingham vs $934 in Cebu, rent included.

Birmingham $2,500
Cebu $934

A couple spends around $3,627 per month in Birmingham vs $1,415 in Cebu, rent included.

Birmingham $3,627
Cebu $1,415

A family of three spends $4,753 per month in Birmingham vs $1,896 in Cebu, rent included.

Birmingham $4,753
Cebu $1,896

Birmingham costs about 168% more than Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Birmingham sits 87% above the global median, while Cebu is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.14 £15.22

$3.03 ₱190

564.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £76.2

$23.48 ₱1,473

329.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.44 £7.14

$4.09 ₱256

130.81%

Cappuccino

$5.06 £3.82

$2.52 ₱158

100.79%

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

$2.54 £1.92

$1.54 ₱96.9

64.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.47

$0.49 ₱30.98

297.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.11 £5.38

$1.79 ₱112

297.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.68 £5.05

$2.26 ₱142

195.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 £1.43

$1.95 ₱122

-3.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 £1.40

$1.43 ₱89.7

29.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.50 £1.89

$1.02 ₱63.8

145.10%

Eggs

$3.91 £2.96

$2.06 ₱129

89.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 £6.85

$9.81 ₱615

-7.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.71 £6.58

$4.61 ₱289

88.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.03 £11.36

$7.70 ₱483

95.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 £1.95

$3.31 ₱207

-22.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$1.45 ₱90.9

21.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.44 £1.84

$2.36 ₱148

3.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.70 £2.79

$1.54 ₱96.4

140.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 £1.19

$2.36 ₱148

-33.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$1.99 ₱125

-11.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 £1.00

$1.15 ₱72.1

14.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.67 ₱42.15

135.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.86 £16.52

$3.00 ₱188

628.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.09 £9.14

$6.35 ₱398

90.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.67 £2.77

$1.31 ₱81.9

180.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 £2.53

$1.73 ₱108

93.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.98

$0.25 ₱15.78

1476.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.2 £71.2

$12.65 ₱793

644.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 £3.76

$0.74 ₱46.32

571.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.39 £1.81

$0.21 ₱13.11

1038.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.23 £18.31

$4.33 ₱271

459.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.33 ₱83.5

55.64%

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

$37.5K £28.3K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

72.18%

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

$41.1K £31.1K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

112.00%

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

$316 £239

$121 ₱7,563

161.90%

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

$21.37 £16.15

$14.45 ₱907

47.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.44 £35.85

$28.29 ₱1,774

67.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.70 £29.24

$32.68 ₱2,050

18.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.29 £22.89

$6.39 ₱401

374.02%

Cinema Ticket

$15.89 £12.01

$5.46 ₱342

191.03%

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

$1,601 £1,210

$273 ₱17.1K

485.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K £17.8K

$8,156 ₱511.5K

188.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £80.5

$49.57 ₱3,109

114.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.76 £37.61

$24.87 ₱1,560

100.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 £89.0

$76.6 ₱4,804

53.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$149 £112

$59.3 ₱3,717

151.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,395 £1,054

$506 ₱31.7K

175.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 £834

$309 ₱19.4K

256.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,128 £1,608

$1,052 ₱66.0K

102.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,719 £1,299

$619 ₱38.8K

177.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,354 £4,046

$2,915 ₱182.9K

83.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,174 £3,154

$1,867 ₱117.1K

123.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,523 £3,418

$341 ₱21.4K

1226.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

7.2

-29.31%

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

Last update for Birmingham: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Birmingham

$1.1K 44.1%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 72% $794

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Birmingham

$385 15.4%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 57.5% $221

Eating Out

Birmingham

$317 12.7%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 72.1% $229

Groceries & Markets

Birmingham

$312 12.5%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 32.6% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Birmingham

$190 7.6%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 50.3% $96

Getting Around

Birmingham

$127 5.1%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 87.8% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Birmingham

$70 2.8%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 38.1% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,395 in Birmingham versus $506 in Cebu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1226% higher in Birmingham, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $101 in Birmingham versus $23.00 in Cebu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $312 vs $210 – making Cebu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Birmingham

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

05:06 5:06 AM

12:06 12:06 PM

7 h ahead of Birmingham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,036,878

964,169

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Birmingham Cebu 11,350 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Birmingham
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

Birmingham vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,500 in Birmingham, $934 in Cebu – roughly 168% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,750 per month in Birmingham and $1,401 in Cebu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cebu, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $1,601 per month in Birmingham and $273 in Cebu. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 48% more in Birmingham, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cebu, where all-in costs run around $934, than in Birmingham at $2,500. In Cebu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Birmingham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cebu has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $934 in Cebu to $2,500 in Birmingham. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cebu. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Birmingham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.