Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Bekasi

For one person, living is cheaper in Bekasi: $665 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Bekasi
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Bekasi Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Bekasi

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$665

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Bekasi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $665 in Bekasi.

Cebu $918
Bekasi $665

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,073 in Bekasi.

Cebu $1,409
Bekasi $1,073

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,480 in Bekasi.

Cebu $1,900
Bekasi $1,480

Living in Cebu is roughly 38% more expensive than in Bekasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Bekasi 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$2.72 Rp 48.9K

13.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$14.10 Rp 253.9K

71.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$3.41 Rp 61.4K

14.96%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.47 Rp 26.4K

70.75%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.46 Rp 8,309

245.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.22 Rp 3,940

140.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.44 Rp 43.9K

-27.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.82 Rp 68.7K

-43.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.10 Rp 19.9K

74.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.12 Rp 20.2K

21.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.85 Rp 15.3K

18.82%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.64 Rp 29.6K

23.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$9.52 Rp 171.4K

3.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.94 Rp 53.0K

49.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$8.02 Rp 144.4K

-5.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.74 Rp 49.3K

20.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.37 Rp 24.7K

1.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.50 Rp 45.0K

-6.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

13.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.34 Rp 24.1K

76.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.11 Rp 37.9K

-9.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.94 Rp 17.0K

26.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.40 Rp 7,281

57.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$2.74 Rp 49.2K

9.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$22.24 Rp 400.3K

-72.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$2.03 Rp 36.5K

-39.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$3.12 Rp 56.2K

-43.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.35 Rp 6,217

-28.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$11.05 Rp 199.0K

14.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

-7.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.44 Rp 7,889

-47.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$2.26 Rp 40.7K

97.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.86 Rp 15.5K

52.33%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$20.8K Rp 375.2M

1.91%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$32.1K Rp 578.4M

-40.41%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$63.4 Rp 1.1M

89.70%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$5.94 Rp 106.9K

135.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$19.24 Rp 346.3K

43.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$15.55 Rp 280.0K

107.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$6.20 Rp 111.5K

7.26%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$3.36 Rp 60.6K

68.15%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$128 Rp 2.3M

114.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$8,333 Rp 150.0M

-4.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$58.3 Rp 1.0M

-15.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$32.38 Rp 582.8K

-22.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$76.9 Rp 1.4M

0.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$94.1 Rp 1.7M

-39.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$206 Rp 3.7M

142.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$133 Rp 2.4M

132.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$457 Rp 8.2M

136.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$358 Rp 6.4M

71.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$585 Rp 10.5M

393.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$902 Rp 16.2M

112.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$366 Rp 6.6M

-5.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

9.46

-23.89%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bekasi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Bekasi

$133 20% 57% $176

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Bekasi

$216 32.5% 4.9% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Bekasi

$89 13.3% 45.3% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Bekasi

$118 17.7% 25.4% $24

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Bekasi

$72 10.9% 18.3% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Bekasi

$22 3.4% 48.9% $21

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Bekasi

$15 2.3% 0.7% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $206 in Bekasi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bekasi pays 6% 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 $14.00 in Bekasi. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $216, with Cebu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇩 Bekasi

🕒 Local time

20:35 8:35 PM

19:35 7:35 PM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

2,334,871

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Bekasi 2,620 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Bekasi

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 Bekasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu and Bekasi differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($918 vs $665 including rent). Bekasi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Bekasi. 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 $206 in Bekasi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bekasi – a meal for two runs $14.00 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 $665 in Bekasi – a 38% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Bekasi 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 Bekasi 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 Bekasi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.