Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Aja

For one person, living is cheaper in Aja: $455 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Aja
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Aja Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Aja

🇪🇬 Egypt

$455

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Aja

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cebu and in Aja actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $918 per month in Cebu vs $455 in Aja, rent included.

Cebu $918
Aja $455

A couple spends around $1,409 per month in Cebu vs $723 in Aja, rent included.

Cebu $1,409
Aja $723

A family of three spends $1,900 per month in Cebu vs $990 in Aja, rent included.

Cebu $1,900
Aja $990

Cebu costs about 102% more than Aja, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cebu and Aja are more affordable than the global median – Cebu 32% lower, Aja 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$4.34 E£232

-28.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$13.32 E£711

81.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$5.21 E£278

-24.76%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.33 E£71.2

88.72%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.30 E£15.81

430.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.10 E£5.49

430.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.30 E£69.2

36.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.05 E£163

-28.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.94 E£50.0

104.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.69 E£36.83

97.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.67 E£35.58

50.75%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.12 E£59.6

81.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$3.30 E£176

198.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$4.37 E£233

0.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$7.81 E£417

-2.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.42 E£76.1

132.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.72 E£38.37

93.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$0.47 E£25.06

395.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.37 E£19.60

305.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.29 E£15.31

713.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.32 E£17.22

493.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.30 E£15.76

296.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.22 E£11.61

186.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$2.00 E£107

50.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$6.13 E£327

-1.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.29 E£69.0

-4.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.80 E£96.1

-2.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.16 E£8.69

56.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.39 E£20.96

97.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.18 E£9.51

27.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$1.31 E£70.0

240.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.39 E£20.98

235.90%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$31.8K E£1.7M

-33.10%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$28.0K E£1.5M

-31.72%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$17.21 E£919

598.61%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$6.25 E£334

124.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$13.72 E£733

100.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$17.63 E£941

83.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$2.97 E£159

90.24%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$97.8 E£5,225

181.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$1,838 E£98.1K

330.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$19.13 E£1,022

157.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$46.56 E£2,486

-45.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$127 E£6,807

-39.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$63.5 E£3,392

-9.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$123 E£6,563

306.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$75.4 E£4,026

309.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$244 E£13.0K

341.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$133 E£7,110

362.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$684 E£36.5K

321.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$327 E£17.5K

485.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

16.21

-55.58%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Aja: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Aja

$75 16.6% 75.6% $233

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Aja

$121 26.6% 41.1% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Aja

$37 8.2% 77% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Aja

$116 25.4% 23% $22

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Aja

$80 17.7% 8.8% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Aja

$24 5.2% 46% $20

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Aja

$1.9 * 0.4% 87.6% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $500 in Cebu versus $123 in Aja. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24.00 in Cebu versus $13.00 in Aja. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $206 vs $121 – making Aja the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇪🇬 Aja

🕒 Local time

19:25 7:25 PM

14:25 2:25 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

47,013

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

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).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Aja 9,670 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Aja

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

Cebu vs Aja: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu costs about 102% more than Aja, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,377 per month in Cebu and $683 in Aja. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $918 in Cebu and $455 in Aja. That's a gap of about 102%.

Kindergarten costs $275 per month in Cebu and $97.8 in Aja. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $918 in Cebu and $455 in Aja, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Aja costs $455 versus $918 in Cebu. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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