Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Baabda

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,008 in Baabda, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. The total is higher in Baabda despite lower rent and utilities.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Baabda
Learn more

Baabda Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Baabda

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,008

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Baabda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,008 in Baabda.

Cebu $918
Baabda $1,008

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,611 in Baabda.

Cebu $1,409
Baabda $1,611

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,213 in Baabda.

Cebu $1,900
Baabda $2,213

Living in Cebu costs roughly 9% less than in Baabda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Baabda 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱195

$11.98 LBP 1.1M

-74.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$68.0 LBP 6.1M

-64.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$10.08 LBP 901.9K

-61.11%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$4.60 LBP 411.8K

-45.43%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$2.40 LBP 214.7K

-33.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.45

$0.85 LBP 76.3K

-37.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$4.92 LBP 440.0K

-63.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$4.79 LBP 428.4K

-54.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.97 LBP 176.3K

-2.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.5

$0.91 LBP 81.9K

49.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.6

$2.34 LBP 209.0K

-56.84%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.67 LBP 328.8K

-44.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$10.96 LBP 980.6K

-10.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$10.50 LBP 940.1K

-58.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$14.97 LBP 1.3M

-49.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.03 LBP 271.5K

8.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.71 LBP 153.5K

-18.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.69 LBP 150.8K

37.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.51 LBP 135.5K

-0.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.26 LBP 112.6K

87.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.60 LBP 143.3K

18.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.20 LBP 107.7K

-0.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.73

$0.73 LBP 65.0K

-13.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.02 LBP 270.6K

-0.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱380

$11.16 LBP 999.2K

-45.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.28 LBP 114.9K

-3.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.48 LBP 221.7K

-29.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.64

$4.93 LBP 441.6K

-84.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.54

$2.30 LBP 205.9K

-90.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$22.28 LBP 2.0M

-79.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.05 LBP 93.7K

24.76%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$53.3K LBP 4.8B

-60.11%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$32.7K LBP 2.9B

-41.37%

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

$120 ₱7,573

$236 LBP 21.2M

-49.15%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$22.34 LBP 2.0M

-37.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,735

$37.79 LBP 3.4M

-27.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$10.08 LBP 901.9K

-43.95%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$686 LBP 61.4M

-59.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.8K

$10.6K LBP 952.0M

-25.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,107

$68.9 LBP 6.2M

-28.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,590

$50.2 LBP 4.5M

-49.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,848

$139 LBP 12.4M

-44.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,603

$118 LBP 10.6M

-51.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

-34.55%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Baabda: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Baabda

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Baabda

$277 27.5% 34.6% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Baabda

$297 29.4% 83.3% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Baabda

$169 16.8% 80.4% $76

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Baabda

$228 22.7% 159% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Baabda

$20 * 2% 53.8% $23

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Baabda

$16 * 1.6% 5.6% $0.9

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $68.0 in Baabda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $277 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇱🇧 Baabda

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

21:39 9:39 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

9,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.82 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,630 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Baabda 9,220 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Baabda

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 Baabda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu and Baabda differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($918 vs $1,008 including rent). Cebu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $1,512 in Baabda to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $275 in Cebu versus $686 in Baabda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cebu – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $68.0 in Baabda. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Cebu gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Baabda 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 10% less than in Baabda. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.