Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cabarete and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,189 in Cabarete, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Cabarete
Learn more

Cabarete Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

Jump to prices

Cabarete

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,189

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,189 in Cabarete versus $918 in Cebu.

Cabarete $1,189
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,792 in Cabarete versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Cabarete $1,792
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,396 in Cabarete versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Cabarete $2,396
Cebu $1,900

Living in Cabarete is roughly 30% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cabarete 12% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.85 DOP 481

$3.09 ₱194

154.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.97 DOP 3,061

$24.22 ₱1,525

106.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.88 DOP 422

$3.92 ₱247

75.51%

Cappuccino

$2.00 DOP 122

$2.51 ₱158

-20.32%

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

$1.01 DOP 62.1

$1.59 ₱100

-36.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 DOP 33.47

$0.53 ₱33.43

3.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 DOP 147

$1.78 ₱112

34.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 DOP 194

$2.17 ₱137

45.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 DOP 84.9

$1.92 ₱121

-27.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 DOP 93.4

$1.36 ₱85.4

12.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 DOP 98.3

$1.01 ₱63.5

59.41%

Eggs

$2.27 DOP 139

$2.03 ₱128

11.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.99 DOP 428

$9.86 ₱621

-29.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.45 DOP 334

$4.39 ₱277

24.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.47 DOP 396

$7.60 ₱479

-14.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 DOP 175

$3.30 ₱208

-13.33%

Banana (1kg)

$0.77 DOP 46.88

$1.39 ₱87.8

-44.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 DOP 164

$2.33 ₱147

14.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.85 DOP 113

$1.50 ₱94.3

23.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 DOP 123

$2.36 ₱149

-14.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 DOP 136

$1.90 ₱119

16.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 DOP 61.0

$1.19 ₱74.9

-15.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 DOP 48.39

$0.63 ₱39.71

25.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.03 DOP 247

$3.00 ₱189

34.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.43 DOP 639

$6.03 ₱379

72.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 DOP 158

$1.23 ₱77.7

109.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 DOP 153

$1.75 ₱110

42.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 DOP 62.1

$0.25 ₱15.86

304.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 DOP 196

$0.77 ₱48.62

315.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 DOP 139

$0.23 ₱14.53

886.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 DOP 349

$4.46 ₱281

27.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 DOP 73.5

$1.31 ₱82.8

-8.40%

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

$22.8K DOP 1.4M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

7.32%

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

$33.3K DOP 2.0M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

73.92%

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

$91.3 DOP 5,593

$120 ₱7,569

-24.06%

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

$31.47 DOP 1,928

$14.00 ₱882

124.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.12 DOP 2,213

$27.54 ₱1,734

31.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.15 DOP 1,541

$32.33 ₱2,035

-22.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$7.56 DOP 463

$5.65 ₱356

33.81%

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

$249 DOP 15.3K

$275 ₱17.3K

-9.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,256 DOP 444.5K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-8.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.97 DOP 2,816

$49.33 ₱3,106

-6.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.57 DOP 2,792

$25.24 ₱1,589

80.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.7 DOP 5,253

$77.0 ₱4,846

11.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 DOP 7,441

$57.2 ₱3,601

112.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$706 DOP 43.2K

$500 ₱31.5K

41.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 DOP 30.1K

$309 ₱19.4K

59.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 DOP 72.9K

$1,078 ₱67.9K

10.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$790 DOP 48.4K

$615 ₱38.7K

28.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$297 DOP 18.2K

$1,917 ₱120.7K

-84.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

7.2

88.33%

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

Last update for Cabarete: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cabarete

$491 41.3%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 37.1% $182

Groceries & Markets

Cabarete

$214 18%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 3.7% $7.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cabarete

$159 13.4%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 1.8% $2.9

Clothing & Footwear

Cabarete

$134 11.3%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 30.1% $41

Eating Out

Cabarete

$132 11.1%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 33.1% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Cabarete

$40 3.4%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 8.3% $3.3

Getting Around

Cabarete

$19 * 1.6%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 16.2% $3

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 $706 in Cabarete and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Cabarete vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Cabarete

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

22:39 10:39 PM

10:39 10:39 AM

12 h ahead of Cabarete

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,094

964,169

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.45 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 61.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.45 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cabarete Cebu 16,330 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Cabarete
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

Cabarete vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Cabarete. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cebu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,784 in Cabarete 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $706 in Cabarete versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $249 in Cabarete 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 Cebu – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $50.0 in Cabarete. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,189 in Cabarete, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Cabarete. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cebu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $918 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cebu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cabarete 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 30% less than in Cabarete. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.