Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Bethune

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,725 in Bethune, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Bethune
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Bethune Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Bethune

🇫🇷 France

$1,725

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Bethune

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,725 in Bethune.

Cebu $918
Bethune $1,725

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $2,711 in Bethune.

Cebu $1,409
Bethune $2,711

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $3,698 in Bethune.

Cebu $1,900
Bethune $3,698

Living in Cebu costs roughly 47% less than in Bethune, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Bethune is 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$17.77 €15.81

-82.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$73.5 €65.3

-67.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$13.27 €11.80

-70.46%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$3.16 €2.81

-20.57%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$2.73 €2.43

-41.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.67 €1.49

-68.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$6.72 €5.98

-73.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$5.70 €5.07

-61.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.30 €1.15

47.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.86 €1.66

-26.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.95 €2.62

-65.76%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$4.03 €3.59

-49.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$21.13 €18.79

-53.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$12.74 €11.33

-65.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$23.00 €20.46

-66.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.05 €2.71

8.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.13 €1.90

-34.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.39 €2.13

-2.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$3.12 €2.78

-51.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.82 €1.62

29.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.96 €1.74

-3.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.42 €1.26

-16.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.53 €0.47

18.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$14.20 €12.63

-78.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$7.85 €6.98

-23.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.84 €1.63

-33.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.54 €2.26

-31.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.77 €1.57

-85.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$50.6 €44.98

-75.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$2.24 €1.99

-65.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$2.16 €1.92

-89.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$23.70 €21.08

-81.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$2.04 €1.82

-35.78%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$33.8K €30.1K

-37.22%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$35.1K €31.3K

-45.51%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$176 €156

-31.54%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$15.09 €13.42

-7.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$30.91 €27.49

-10.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$34.87 €31.01

-7.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$16.76 €14.90

-60.32%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$10.15 €9.03

-44.33%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$619 €550

-55.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$8,158 €7,256

-2.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$87.3 €77.7

-43.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$38.69 €34.41

-34.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$77.7 €69.1

-0.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$97.4 €86.7

-41.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$740 €658

-32.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$599 €533

-48.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$1,354 €1,204

-20.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$1,101 €979

-44.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$3,857 €3,431

-25.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$3,266 €2,905

-41.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$3,663 €3,258

-90.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

3.92

83.67%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bethune: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Bethune

$599 34.7% 94% $290

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Bethune

$360 20.9% 75% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Bethune

$222 12.9% 37% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Bethune

$135 7.9% 44.2% $42

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Bethune

$282 16.4% 220% $194

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Bethune

$55 3.2% 26.5% $12

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Bethune

$71 4.1% 354% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $740 in Bethune. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bethune pays 959% 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: $24.00 in Cebu vs $73.0 in Bethune for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $360 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇫🇷 Bethune

🕒 Local time

00:17 12:17 AM

18:17 6:17 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

24,992

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Bethune 11,200 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Bethune

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 Bethune: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu wins on cost – living expenses run 88% lower than in Bethune. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cebu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 959% lower in Bethune. 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 $740 in Bethune. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $275 in Cebu versus $619 in Bethune. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in Bethune. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,725 in Bethune, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Bethune. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cebu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $918 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cebu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Bethune 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 88% less than in Bethune. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.