Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Arun

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $915 a month against $2,629 in Arun, rent and utilities included – about $20,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
123

Cost of Living Index in Arun
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Arun Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Arun

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,629

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Arun

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

A single person spends $915 per month in Cebu vs $2,629 in Arun, rent included.

Cebu $915
Arun $2,629

A couple spends around $1,418 per month in Cebu vs $3,863 in Arun, rent included.

Cebu $1,418
Arun $3,863

A family of three spends $1,921 per month in Cebu vs $5,097 in Arun, rent included.

Cebu $1,921
Arun $5,097

Cebu is about 65% cheaper than Arun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cebu sits 33% below the global median, while Arun is 94% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$26.34 £19.76

-88.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$108 £81.3

-77.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$10.69 £8.02

-62.68%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$5.82 £4.37

-57.04%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$3.02 £2.26

-49.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$2.21 £1.65

-77.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$9.08 £6.81

-80.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$8.31 £6.24

-73.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.89 £1.42

5.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$2.02 £1.52

-32.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$2.45 £1.84

-57.96%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$5.09 £3.82

-60.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$4.70 £3.52

117.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$10.72 £8.04

-58.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$17.19 £12.90

-55.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$3.08 £2.31

7.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$1.11 £0.83

31.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$3.00 £2.25

-22.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$3.39 £2.55

-56.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$1.61 £1.21

45.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$1.80 £1.35

7.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$1.45 £1.09

-20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$1.88 £1.41

-63.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$23.67 £17.76

-87.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$13.11 £9.84

-52.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$3.23 £2.42

-61.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$4.49 £3.37

-61.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

$3.63 £2.72

-93.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

$99.1 £74.3

-87.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$5.72 £4.29

-86.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

$3.23 £2.42

-93.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$26.16 £19.62

-82.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$1.92 £1.44

-31.25%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$38.8K £29.1K

-45.92%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$41.1K £30.8K

-52.74%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$370 £277

-67.93%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$17.94 £13.46

-20.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$39.96 £29.98

-31.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$53.1 £39.87

-39.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$6.15 £4.61

-12.20%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$2,919 £2,190

-90.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

$36.4K £27.3K

-78.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$117 £87.8

-57.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$39.30 £29.48

-37.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$128 £96.2

-40.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$66.6 £49.94

-11.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$1,164 £874

-56.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$1,119 £840

-72.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$2,254 £1,691

-52.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$1,796 £1,347

-64.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

$4,762 £3,572

-39.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

$4,150 £3,113

-54.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.74

51.90%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Arun: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Arun

$1.1K 42.6% 268% $815

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Arun

$328 12.5% 56.3% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Arun

$428 16.3% 167% $267

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Arun

$158 6% 67.6% $64

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Arun

$396 15.1% 351% $308

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Arun

$65 2.5% 51.8% $22

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Arun

$135 5.2% 794% $120

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $503 in Cebu versus $1,164 in Arun. 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 $108 in Arun. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $210 vs $328 – making Cebu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇬🇧 Arun

🕒 Local time

07:43 7:43 AM

00:43 12:43 AM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

3,285

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Arun 11,380 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Arun

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 Arun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arun costs about 187% more than Cebu, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,372 per month in Cebu and $3,943 in Arun. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24.00 in Cebu and $108 in Arun. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $915 in Cebu and $2,629 in Arun. That's a gap of about 187%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cebu, where all-in costs run around $915, than in Arun at $2,629. In Cebu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arun it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cebu costs $915 versus $2,629 in Arun. 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 Cebu. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Arun makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.