Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and As-salimiyah

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,342 in As-salimiyah, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in As-salimiyah
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As-salimiyah Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

As-salimiyah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,342

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in As-salimiyah

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 As-salimiyah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $918 per month in Cebu vs $1,342 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Cebu $918
As-salimiyah $1,342

A couple spends around $1,409 per month in Cebu vs $2,258 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Cebu $1,409
As-salimiyah $2,258

A family of three spends $1,900 per month in Cebu vs $3,173 in As-salimiyah, rent included.

Cebu $1,900
As-salimiyah $3,173

Cebu is about 32% cheaper than As-salimiyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cebu and As-salimiyah are more affordable than the global median – Cebu 32% lower, As-salimiyah 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$11.26 KWD 3.47

-72.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$58.5 KWD 18.03

-58.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$8.65 KWD 2.67

-54.68%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.29 KWD 1.01

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 KWD 0.51

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$5.05 KWD 1.56

-50.30%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.74 KWD 0.23

114.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.31 KWD 0.10

70.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.29 KWD 0.40

48.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.69 KWD 0.21

97.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.87 KWD 0.58

-45.99%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.13 KWD 0.66

-4.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$4.40 KWD 1.36

124.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$5.30 KWD 1.63

-17.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$9.78 KWD 3.01

-22.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.12 KWD 0.65

55.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.56 KWD 0.48

-10.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.24 KWD 0.38

87.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.50 KWD 0.46

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.31 KWD 0.40

80.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.77 KWD 0.24

146.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.58 KWD 0.49

-24.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.50 KWD 0.15

26.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.23 KWD 0.99

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 KWD 0.44

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$2.67 KWD 0.82

12.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.83 KWD 0.26

-69.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$47.63 KWD 14.68

-73.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$3.15 KWD 0.97

-75.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$3.24 KWD 1.00

-92.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$15.80 KWD 4.87

-71.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.33 KWD 0.10

296.97%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$21.0K KWD 6,461

1.30%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$20.4K KWD 6,277

-6.02%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$31.73 KWD 9.78

278.92%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$20.57 KWD 6.34

-31.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$29.96 KWD 9.23

-8.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$97.9 KWD 30.17

-66.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$64.5 KWD 19.87

-89.69%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$11.20 KWD 3.45

-49.55%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$276 KWD 84.9

-0.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$6,239 KWD 1,922

26.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$37.85 KWD 11.66

30.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$38.85 KWD 11.97

-35.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$91.0 KWD 28.04

-15.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$63.7 KWD 19.63

-10.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$871 KWD 268

-42.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$629 KWD 194

-50.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$1,783 KWD 549

-39.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$1,347 KWD 415

-54.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$2,752 KWD 848

-87.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

6.53

10.26%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for As-salimiyah: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

As-salimiyah

$629 46.9% 104% $321

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

As-salimiyah

$155 11.6% 24.7% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

As-salimiyah

$82 6.1% 49.1% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

As-salimiyah

$104 7.8% 10.9% $10

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

As-salimiyah

$181 13.5% 105% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

As-salimiyah

$120 9% 176% $77

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

As-salimiyah

$70 5.2% 352% $55

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $500 in Cebu versus $871 in As-salimiyah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 696% higher in As-salimiyah, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24.00 in Cebu versus $59.0 in As-salimiyah. Groceries tell a different story – $206 in Cebu vs $155 in As-salimiyah – so As-salimiyah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇰🇼 As-salimiyah

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

11:28 11:28 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

147,649

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu As-salimiyah 8,080 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
As-salimiyah

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 As-salimiyah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – As-salimiyah is pricier by about 46%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,377 per month in Cebu and $2,014 in As-salimiyah. 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $918 in Cebu and $1,342 in As-salimiyah. That's a gap of about 46%.

Public transport costs about 277% less in Cebu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cebu, where all-in costs run around $918, than in As-salimiyah at $1,342. In Cebu it covers expenses comfortably, while in As-salimiyah it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cebu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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, As-salimiyah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.