Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Balasore

For one person, living is cheaper in Balasore: $330 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 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
16

Cost of Living Index in Balasore
Learn more

Balasore Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Balasore

🇮🇳 India

$330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Balasore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $330 in Balasore.

Cebu $918
Balasore $330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $521 in Balasore.

Cebu $1,409
Balasore $521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $712 in Balasore.

Cebu $1,900
Balasore $712

Living in Cebu is roughly 178% more expensive than in Balasore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Balasore 76% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱195

$1.54 ₹146

100.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$8.47 ₹804

185.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$4.12 ₹392

-4.85%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$0.92 ₹87.8

172.83%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.29 ₹27.37

448.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.45

$0.11 ₹10.81

381.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.22 ₹115

45.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.13 ₹202

1.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.46 ₹43.96

317.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.5

$0.39 ₹37.12

248.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.6

$0.57 ₹54.2

77.19%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$0.83 ₹78.8

144.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$2.87 ₹273

243.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.07 ₹197

112.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.86 ₹177

77.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.71 ₹67.8

95.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.07 ₹101

117.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.65 ₹61.3

130.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.25 ₹23.82

844.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.32 ₹30.23

493.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.34 ₹32.72

250.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.73

$0.25 ₹23.82

152.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.12 ₹486

-41.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱380

$10.29 ₹977

-41.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.38 ₹131

-10.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.11 ₹200

-17.06%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$3.74 ₹355

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

$0.46 ₹43.41

-45.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$6.50 ₹617

94.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.64

$0.61 ₹57.5

26.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.54

$0.17 ₹15.67

35.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$1.55 ₹147

187.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.09 ₹103

20.18%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$8,461 ₹803.4K

151.06%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$23.0K ₹2.2M

-16.88%

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

$120 ₱7,573

$22.72 ₹2,157

429.18%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$3.11 ₹295

350.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,735

$6.89 ₹654

299.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

$18.16 ₹1,724

78.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$0.86 ₹81.7

673.26%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$2.00 ₹190

182.50%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$33.25 ₹3,157

728.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.8K

$1,631 ₹154.9K

385.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,107

$26.97 ₹2,561

82.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,590

$26.78 ₹2,543

-5.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,848

$36.22 ₹3,440

112.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,603

$28.75 ₹2,730

98.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$120 ₹11.4K

316.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$72.4 ₹6,871

326.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$267 ₹25.3K

304.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

$166 ₹15.8K

270.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

$564 ₹53.5K

412.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$375 ₹35.7K

410.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$410 ₹38.9K

-15.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

7.8

-7.69%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Balasore: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Balasore

$72 21.9% 76.6% $236

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Balasore

$92 27.8% 55.5% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Balasore

$33 9.9% 79.8% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Balasore

$53 16.2% 43.1% $41

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Balasore

$48 14.5% 45.9% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Balasore

$22 6.7% 49.2% $21

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Balasore

$9.8 3% 37.3% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $120 in Balasore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Balasore pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $8.00 in Balasore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $92.0 per month, with Balasore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇳 Balasore

🕒 Local time

05:00 5:00 AM

02:30 2:30 AM

2 h 30 min behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

144,373

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.95 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Balasore 4,130 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Balasore

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 Balasore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Balasore wins on cost – living expenses run 178% lower than in Cebu. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Balasore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 19% lower in Balasore. 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 $120 in Balasore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Balasore – a meal for two runs $8.00 versus $24.00 in Cebu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $330 in Balasore – a 178% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Balasore gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Balasore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $330 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Balasore hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Balasore 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 Balasore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 178% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.