Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Al Muharraq

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,089 in Al Muharraq, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Al Muharraq
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Al Muharraq Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Al Muharraq

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,089

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Al Muharraq

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 Al Muharraq actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,089 in Al Muharraq.

Cebu $918
Al Muharraq $1,089

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,621 in Al Muharraq.

Cebu $1,409
Al Muharraq $1,621

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,152 in Al Muharraq.

Cebu $1,900
Al Muharraq $2,152

Living in Cebu costs roughly 16% less than in Al Muharraq, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Al Muharraq 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$2.67 BHD 1.01

15.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$26.28 BHD 9.92

-7.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$5.94 BHD 2.24

-34.01%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$4.04 BHD 1.52

-37.87%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.89 BHD 0.33

78.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.32 BHD 0.12

65.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$6.49 BHD 2.45

-72.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$6.82 BHD 2.57

-68.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.34 BHD 0.51

43.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.05 BHD 0.40

29.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.29 BHD 0.86

-55.90%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.24 BHD 0.84

-9.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$3.64 BHD 1.37

170.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$4.82 BHD 1.82

-8.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$8.40 BHD 3.17

-9.52%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.03 BHD 0.39

220.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.89 BHD 0.71

-26.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.09 BHD 0.41

113.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.38 BHD 0.52

8.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.02 BHD 0.38

131.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.52 BHD 0.19

265.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.52 BHD 0.19

128.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.51 BHD 0.19

23.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.40 BHD 2.04

-44.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$18.89 BHD 7.13

-68.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$3.63 BHD 1.37

-66.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.73 BHD 1.03

-35.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$5.40 BHD 2.04

-85.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.33 BHD 0.50

-82.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$5.35 BHD 2.02

-16.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.51 BHD 0.19

156.86%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$37.6K BHD 14.2K

-43.51%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$20.7K BHD 7,827

-7.68%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$151 BHD 57.1

-20.50%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$21.42 BHD 8.08

-34.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$35.71 BHD 13.48

-22.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$10.65 BHD 4.02

-46.95%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$488 BHD 184

-43.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$10.8K BHD 4,092

-26.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$50.7 BHD 19.14

-2.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$58.3 BHD 22.00

-56.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$88.7 BHD 33.46

-13.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$88.5 BHD 33.38

-35.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$466 BHD 176

7.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$376 BHD 142

-17.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$977 BHD 369

10.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$741 BHD 280

-16.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$2,015 BHD 760

43.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,582 BHD 597

21.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,773 BHD 669

-80.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

6.21

15.94%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Al Muharraq: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Al Muharraq

$376 34.5% 21.7% $67

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Al Muharraq

$204 18.7% 1.1% $2.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Al Muharraq

$208 19.1% 28.8% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Al Muharraq

$129 11.8% 37.1% $35

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Al Muharraq

$139 12.7% 57% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Al Muharraq

$21 * 2% 51.2% $22

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Al Muharraq

$12 * 1.1% 22.5% $3.5

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 $500 in Cebu and $466 in Al Muharraq. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Muharraq pays 413% 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: $24.00 in Cebu vs $26.00 in Al Muharraq. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $204, with Al Muharraq cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇭 Al Muharraq

🕒 Local time

21:07 9:07 PM

16:07 4:07 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

75,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, 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).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.424 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Al Muharraq 7,850 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Al Muharraq

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 Al Muharraq: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu and Al Muharraq differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($918 vs $1,089 including rent). Cebu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 413% lower in Al Muharraq. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $466 in Al Muharraq. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Al Muharraq pay roughly 1% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $1,089 in Al Muharraq – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,089 in Al Muharraq, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Al Muharraq. 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, Cebu and Al Muharraq 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 19% less than in Al Muharraq. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.