Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Castlebar and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $915 a month against $2,675 in Castlebar, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Castlebar
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Castlebar Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Castlebar

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,675

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,675 in Castlebar versus $915 in Cebu.

Castlebar $2,675
Cebu $915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,567 in Castlebar versus $1,418 in Cebu.

Castlebar $3,567
Cebu $1,418

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,459 in Castlebar versus $1,921 in Cebu.

Castlebar $4,459
Cebu $1,921

Living in Castlebar is roughly 192% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Castlebar is 97% above, Cebu is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.25 €14.45

$3.05 ₱192

432.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.7 €86.0

$24.00 ₱1,511

302.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 €9.54

$3.99 ₱251

168.92%

Cappuccino

$3.80 €3.38

$2.50 ₱157

52.00%

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

$2.10 €1.86

$1.54 ₱97.1

36.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 €1.13

$0.50 ₱31.37

154.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.60 €5.87

$1.78 ₱112

270.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.14 €4.57

$2.17 ₱136

136.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 €1.47

$2.00 ₱126

-17.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.37 ₱86.2

7.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.50 €2.22

$1.03 ₱64.9

142.72%

Eggs

$4.03 €3.58

$2.03 ₱128

98.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.75 €2.45

$10.20 ₱642

-73.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.44 €3.95

$4.45 ₱280

-0.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.87 €6.11

$7.67 ₱483

-10.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 €3.00

$3.31 ₱208

1.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.46 ₱91.8

28.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.29 €2.93

$2.32 ₱146

41.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.83 €2.52

$1.49 ₱94.0

89.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.74 €2.43

$2.34 ₱147

17.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 €0.62

$1.94 ₱122

-64.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 €1.33

$1.16 ₱73.0

29.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.68 ₱42.89

238.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.07 €13.40

$2.99 ₱188

404.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.21 €10.86

$6.24 ₱393

95.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.54 €4.04

$1.23 ₱77.3

269.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.89

$1.73 ₱109

152.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.20 €2.85

$0.23 ₱14.36

1291.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$145 €129

$12.34 ₱777

1072.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.89

$0.79 ₱49.96

453.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.22 ₱13.86

550.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.21 €16.20

$4.54 ₱286

301.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 €1.78

$1.32 ₱82.9

52.27%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

87.29%

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

$33.3K €29.6K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

71.48%

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

$241 €215

$119 ₱7,464

103.57%

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

$24.77 €22.03

$14.22 ₱896

74.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.6 €49.41

$27.47 ₱1,730

102.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.63 €44.14

$32.31 ₱2,034

53.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.93 €30.18

$6.50 ₱409

422.00%

Cinema Ticket

$11.34 €10.09

$5.40 ₱340

110.00%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,217 €4,641

$7,866 ₱495.3K

-33.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 €98.7

$49.37 ₱3,108

124.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.14 €29.48

$24.58 ₱1,548

34.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.3

$76.6 ₱4,825

32.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,618 €1,440

$503 ₱31.7K

221.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,474 €1,311

$305 ₱19.2K

384.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,995 €1,775

$1,075 ₱67.7K

85.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,755 €1,562

$632 ₱39.8K

177.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,370 €2,997

$2,870 ₱180.7K

17.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,320 €3,842

$336 ₱21.1K

1186.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.17

7.2

-42.08%

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

Last update for Castlebar: October 18, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Castlebar

$1.5K 55.1%

Cebu

$305 33.3% 79.3% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Castlebar

$322 12%

Cebu

$160 17.5% 50.2% $161

Eating Out

Castlebar

$265 9.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 66.8% $177

Groceries & Markets

Castlebar

$263 9.8%

Cebu

$210 22.9% 20.3% $53

Getting Around

Castlebar

$169 6.3%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 91% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Castlebar

$111 * 4.1%

Cebu

$94 10.3% 14.7% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Castlebar

$72 2.7%

Cebu

$43 4.7% 40.4% $29

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 $1,618 in Castlebar and $503 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Castlebar pays 1186% 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: $97.0 in Castlebar vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Castlebar

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

17:51 5:51 PM

00:51 12:51 AM

7 h ahead of Castlebar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,054

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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Castlebar Cebu 11,640 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Castlebar
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

Castlebar vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Castlebar and Cebu differ by about 192% in total monthly costs ($2,675 vs $915 including rent). Cebu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1186% higher in Castlebar, 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: $1,618 in Castlebar versus $503 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 $97.0 in Castlebar. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 1073% less than in Castlebar. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $915 in Cebu versus $2,675 in Castlebar, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Castlebar. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this 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.

Safety-wise, Castlebar 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 192% less than in Castlebar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.