Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Batam

For one person, living is cheaper in Batam: $596 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Batam
Learn more

Batam Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Batam

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$596

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Batam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $596 in Batam.

Cebu $934
Batam $596

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,010 in Batam.

Cebu $1,415
Batam $1,010

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $1,424 in Batam.

Cebu $1,896
Batam $1,424

Living in Cebu is roughly 57% more expensive than in Batam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Batam 56% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱191

$1.97 Rp 35.3K

53.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,476

$8.33 Rp 149.0K

181.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱257

$4.01 Rp 71.7K

2.00%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$2.12 Rp 37.9K

18.87%

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

$1.54 ₱97.2

$0.65 Rp 11.6K

136.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱31.06

$0.31 Rp 5,617

58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱113

$2.53 Rp 45.3K

-29.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$3.66 Rp 65.5K

-38.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

69.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.9

$1.11 Rp 19.8K

28.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱64.0

$0.81 Rp 14.5K

25.93%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$1.24 Rp 22.1K

66.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱617

$7.40 Rp 132.4K

32.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱290

$2.40 Rp 43.0K

92.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱484

$4.35 Rp 77.7K

77.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$2.25 Rp 40.3K

47.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱91.2

$1.97 Rp 35.3K

-26.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$2.02 Rp 36.2K

16.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.6

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

54.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.97 Rp 17.4K

143.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.93 Rp 34.5K

3.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.3

$1.32 Rp 23.6K

-12.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.26

$0.44 Rp 7,951

52.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$2.74 Rp 49.0K

9.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱399

$13.91 Rp 248.9K

-54.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱82.1

$1.70 Rp 30.4K

-22.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$2.44 Rp 43.7K

-29.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.82

$0.37 Rp 6,667

-32.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.44

$1.15 Rp 20.5K

-35.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.15

$0.63 Rp 11.3K

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱272

$3.55 Rp 63.4K

21.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.7

$0.82 Rp 14.7K

62.20%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$28.3K Rp 506.8M

-23.17%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$24.4K Rp 436.2M

-20.44%

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

$121 ₱7,583

$68.6 Rp 1.2M

75.72%

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

$14.45 ₱909

$4.08 Rp 72.9K

254.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,779

$23.00 Rp 411.5K

23.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,055

$26.70 Rp 477.7K

22.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱402

$5.69 Rp 101.8K

12.30%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱343

$2.62 Rp 46.9K

108.40%

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

$273 ₱17.2K

$82.4 Rp 1.5M

231.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱512.9K

$3,273 Rp 58.6M

149.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,117

$31.39 Rp 561.6K

57.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,564

$18.43 Rp 329.8K

34.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,817

$65.2 Rp 1.2M

17.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,727

$24.41 Rp 436.7K

142.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.8K

$270 Rp 4.8M

87.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$148 Rp 2.7M

108.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.1K

$818 Rp 14.6M

28.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.9K

$496 Rp 8.9M

24.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱183.4K

$559 Rp 10.0M

421.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.5K

$343 Rp 6.1M

-0.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

13.17

-45.33%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Batam: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Batam

$148 25% 52.1% $161

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Batam

$173 29.1% 17.9% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Batam

$96 16.1% 41.4% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Batam

$63 10.6% 33.7% $32

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Batam

$77 13% 12.8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Batam

$32 5.4% 26.7% $12

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Batam

$5.8 * 1% 62.5% $9.6

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 $506 in Cebu and $270 in Batam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Batam pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Cebu vs $8.00 in Batam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $173 per month, with Batam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇩 Batam

🕒 Local time

12:51 12:51 PM

11:51 11:51 AM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

1,196,396

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.54 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,890 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,065 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Batam 2,420 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Batam

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 Batam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Batam is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 57% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1% lower in Batam. 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: $506 in Cebu versus $270 in Batam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $596 in Batam – a 57% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Batam is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cebu, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Batam 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 Batam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 57% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.