Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Canterbury and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,981 in Canterbury, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

144

Cost of Living Index in Canterbury
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Canterbury Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Canterbury

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,981

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,981 in Canterbury versus $918 in Cebu.

Canterbury $2,981
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,225 in Canterbury versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Canterbury $4,225
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,469 in Canterbury versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Canterbury $5,469
Cebu $1,900

Living in Canterbury is roughly 225% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Canterbury is 121% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.01 £18.01

$3.09 ₱194

677.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.5 £67.9

$24.22 ₱1,525

273.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 £7.97

$3.92 ₱247

170.92%

Cappuccino

$4.63 £3.48

$2.51 ₱158

84.46%

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

$2.65 £1.99

$1.59 ₱100

66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$0.53 ₱33.43

303.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.25 £5.44

$1.78 ₱112

307.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.56 £4.92

$2.17 ₱137

202.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.92 ₱121

-23.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 £1.76

$1.36 ₱85.4

72.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.01 ₱63.5

67.33%

Eggs

$3.03 £2.27

$2.03 ₱128

49.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.21 £6.91

$9.86 ₱621

-6.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.63 £5.72

$4.39 ₱277

73.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$27.79 £20.85

$7.60 ₱479

265.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.26

$3.30 ₱208

-8.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 £1.09

$1.39 ₱87.8

5.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 £2.26

$2.33 ₱147

29.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.18 £2.38

$1.50 ₱94.3

112.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$2.36 ₱149

-32.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.90 ₱119

-23.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.19 ₱74.9

39.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 £2.08

$0.63 ₱39.71

339.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.23 £17.42

$3.00 ₱189

674.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.67 £11.76

$6.03 ₱379

159.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.23 ₱77.7

117.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 £2.92

$1.75 ₱110

122.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.06

$0.25 ₱15.86

1528.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$141 £106

$12.64 ₱796

1018.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 £3.78

$0.77 ₱48.62

554.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.60 £1.95

$0.23 ₱14.53

1030.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.42 £16.07

$4.46 ₱281

380.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.31 ₱82.8

50.38%

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

$37.2K £27.9K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

75.03%

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

$41.0K £30.8K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

114.29%

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

$389 £292

$120 ₱7,569

223.71%

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

$35.31 £26.49

$14.00 ₱882

152.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.8 £40.35

$27.54 ₱1,734

95.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 £40.47

$32.33 ₱2,035

66.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.96 £28.47

$6.65 ₱419

470.83%

Cinema Ticket

$20.04 £15.04

$5.65 ₱356

254.69%

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

$844 £633

$275 ₱17.3K

206.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K £14.7K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

147.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.2 £72.1

$49.33 ₱3,106

94.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.1 £39.05

$25.24 ₱1,589

106.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 £59.3

$77.0 ₱4,846

2.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$144 £108

$57.2 ₱3,601

152.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 £1,056

$500 ₱31.5K

181.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 £1,020

$309 ₱19.4K

340.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,381 £1,786

$1,078 ₱67.9K

120.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 £1,514

$615 ₱38.7K

227.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,179 £3,886

$2,886 ₱181.7K

79.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,404 £3,304

$1,917 ₱120.7K

129.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,172 £2,380

$346 ₱21.8K

816.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.51

7.2

-23.47%

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

Last update for Canterbury: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Canterbury

$1.4K 45.6%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 77.3% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Canterbury

$478 16%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 66.2% $317

Groceries & Markets

Canterbury

$358 12%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 42.5% $152

Eating Out

Canterbury

$348 11.7%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 74.6% $260

Getting Around

Canterbury

$176 5.9%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 91.1% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Canterbury

$167 5.6%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 43.8% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Canterbury

$94 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 53.6% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,407 in Canterbury and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Canterbury pays 817% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $91.0 in Canterbury vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Canterbury

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

09:38 9:38 AM

16:38 4:38 PM

7 h ahead of Canterbury

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,400

964,169

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Canterbury Cebu 11,250 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Canterbury
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

Canterbury vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu wins on cost – living expenses run 225% lower than in Canterbury. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cebu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 817% higher in Canterbury, 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: $1,407 in Canterbury versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $844 in Canterbury 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 74% higher in Canterbury. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,981 in Canterbury, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Canterbury. 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, Canterbury 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 225% less than in Canterbury. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.