Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Battambang

For one person, living is cheaper in Battambang: $650 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Battambang
Learn more

Battambang Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Battambang

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$650

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Battambang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $650 in Battambang.

Cebu $934
Battambang $650

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,040 in Battambang.

Cebu $1,415
Battambang $1,040

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $1,429 in Battambang.

Cebu $1,896
Battambang $1,429

Living in Cebu is roughly 44% more expensive than in Battambang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Battambang 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱191

$2.44 ៛9,889

24.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,476

$17.77 ៛72.0K

32.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱257

$6.19 ៛25.1K

-33.93%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$1.35 ៛5,456

86.67%

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

$1.54 ₱97.2

$0.68 ៛2,744

126.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱31.06

$0.52 ៛2,112

-5.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱113

$0.84 ៛3,418

113.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$2.30 ៛9,321

-1.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$2.20 ៛8,915

-11.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.9

$1.02 ៛4,123

40.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱64.0

$0.99 ៛4,006

3.03%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$1.68 ៛6,808

22.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱617

$14.88 ៛60.3K

-34.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱290

$2.44 ៛9,870

88.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱484

$9.26 ៛37.5K

-16.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$3.96 ៛16.1K

-16.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱91.2

$1.28 ៛5,195

13.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$4.19 ៛17.0K

-43.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.6

$2.18 ៛8,847

-29.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.57 ៛6,349

50.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.15 ៛4,654

73.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.3

$0.73 ៛2,946

57.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.26

$0.74 ៛2,991

-9.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$1.87 ៛7,571

60.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱399

$11.16 ៛45.2K

-43.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱82.1

$0.60 ៛2,438

118.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$0.98 ៛3,981

76.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.44

$0.90 ៛3,652

-17.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.15

$0.89 ៛3,617

-76.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱272

$4.87 ៛19.7K

-11.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.7

$1.25 ៛5,056

6.40%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$34.8K ៛141.0M

-37.50%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$34.1K ៛138.0M

-43.06%

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

$121 ₱7,583

$63.7 ៛258.0K

89.29%

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

$14.45 ₱909

$2.77 ៛11.2K

421.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,779

$24.60 ៛99.6K

15.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,055

$22.59 ៛91.5K

44.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱402

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱343

$4.89 ៛19.8K

11.66%

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

$273 ₱17.2K

$91.1 ៛368.8K

200.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱512.9K

$3,931 ៛15.9M

107.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,117

$20.04 ៛81.2K

147.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,564

$24.47 ៛99.1K

1.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,817

$92.2 ៛373.4K

-16.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,727

$44.66 ៛180.9K

32.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.8K

$221 ៛893.6K

129.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$151 ៛612.8K

104.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.1K

$433 ៛1.8M

142.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.9K

$327 ៛1.3M

89.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱183.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.5K

$199 ៛806.4K

71.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

7.25

-0.69%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Battambang: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Battambang

$151 23% 51.1% $158

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Battambang

$229 34.7% 8.7% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Battambang

$91 13.8% 44.2% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Battambang

$82 12.4% 13.8% $13

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Battambang

$68 10.3% 23.2% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Battambang

$32 4.9% 25.8% $11

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Battambang

$5.4 * 0.8% 65.2% $10

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 $221 in Battambang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 71% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $23.00 in Cebu vs $18.00 in Battambang. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $229, with Cebu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇰🇭 Battambang

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

16:05 4:05 PM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

196,709

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, 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).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,050 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,542 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Battambang 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Battambang

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 Battambang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Battambang wins on cost – living expenses run 44% lower than in Cebu. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Battambang the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 71% higher in Cebu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $506 in Cebu versus $221 in Battambang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $273 in Cebu versus $91.1 in Battambang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Battambang – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $23.00 in Cebu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Battambang 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 Battambang delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $650 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Battambang hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Battambang 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 Battambang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.