Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartagena and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,427 in Cartagena, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Cartagena
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Cartagena Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Cartagena

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,427

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,427 in Cartagena versus $918 in Cebu.

Cartagena $1,427
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,095 in Cartagena versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Cartagena $2,095
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,762 in Cartagena versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Cartagena $2,762
Cebu $1,900

Living in Cartagena is roughly 56% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cartagena is 6% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.84 €12.31

$3.09 ₱194

347.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.0 €48.90

$24.22 ₱1,525

126.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.60 €6.76

$3.92 ₱247

93.88%

Cappuccino

$2.56 €2.27

$2.51 ₱158

1.99%

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

$2.45 €2.18

$1.59 ₱100

54.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.53 ₱33.43

247.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.43 €3.05

$1.78 ₱112

92.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 €3.54

$2.17 ₱137

83.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 €1.07

$1.92 ₱121

-36.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.36 ₱85.4

-13.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 €2.26

$1.01 ₱63.5

152.48%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.52

$2.03 ₱128

95.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.48

$9.86 ₱621

30.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.94 €6.18

$4.39 ₱277

58.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.67 €16.60

$7.60 ₱479

145.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 €2.13

$3.30 ₱208

-27.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.52 €2.24

$1.39 ₱87.8

81.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.61 €1.43

$2.33 ₱147

-30.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.09 €2.75

$1.50 ₱94.3

106.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 €1.11

$2.36 ₱149

-47.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.90 ₱119

-34.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.19 ₱74.9

31.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 €0.62

$0.63 ₱39.71

9.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.64 €5.02

$3.00 ₱189

88.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 €5.55

$6.03 ₱379

3.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.23 ₱77.7

1.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 €1.00

$1.75 ₱110

-35.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.25 ₱15.86

472.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.14 €9.91

$12.64 ₱796

-11.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.50 €4.90

$0.77 ₱48.62

614.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 €2.00

$0.23 ₱14.53

878.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.49 €24.45

$4.46 ₱281

516.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.31 ₱82.8

35.11%

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

$35.1K €31.2K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

65.27%

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

$30.2K €26.8K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

57.51%

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

$210 €187

$120 ₱7,569

74.69%

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

$19.74 €17.56

$14.00 ₱882

41.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.70 €25.53

$27.54 ₱1,734

4.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.14 €36.59

$32.33 ₱2,035

27.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.80 €11.39

$6.65 ₱419

92.48%

Cinema Ticket

$7.70 €6.85

$5.65 ₱356

36.28%

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

$416 €370

$275 ₱17.3K

51.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,726 €2,425

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-65.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.17 €41.96

$49.33 ₱3,106

-4.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.38 €31.47

$25.24 ₱1,589

40.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.1 €54.3

$77.0 ₱4,846

-20.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 €89.7

$57.2 ₱3,601

76.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$591 €525

$500 ₱31.5K

18.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$492 €438

$309 ₱19.4K

59.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$836 €743

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-22.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$708 €630

$615 ₱38.7K

15.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,770 €1,574

$2,886 ₱181.7K

-38.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,433 €1,275

$1,917 ₱120.7K

-25.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,720 €1,530

$346 ₱21.8K

397.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

7.2

-43.61%

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

Last update for Cartagena: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cartagena

$492 34.5%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 37.2% $183

Groceries & Markets

Cartagena

$270 18.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 23.8% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartagena

$258 18.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 37.4% $97

Eating Out

Cartagena

$206 14.5%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 57.3% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Cartagena

$110 7.7%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 14.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Cartagena

$57 4%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 22.9% $13

Getting Around

Cartagena

$34 2.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 53.6% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $591 in Cartagena and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartagena pays 397% 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: $55.0 in Cartagena vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Cartagena

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

05:37 5:37 AM

11:37 11:37 AM

6 h ahead of Cartagena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

218,050

964,169

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cartagena Cebu 12,200 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Cartagena
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

Cartagena vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu wins on cost – living expenses run 56% lower than in Cartagena. 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 397% higher in Cartagena, 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: $591 in Cartagena versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cebu – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $55.0 in Cartagena. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,427 per month in Cartagena versus $918 in Cebu – a 56% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,427 in Cartagena, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Cartagena. 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, Cartagena 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 56% less than in Cartagena. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.