Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Boryeong

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,491 in Boryeong, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Cebu, Philippines
Boryeong, South Korea
Cebu
🇵🇭 Philippines
$934
/mo nomad
Boryeong
🇰🇷 South Korea
$1,491
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Boryeong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,491 in Boryeong.

  • Cebu $934
  • Boryeong $1,491

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,423 in Cebu versus $2,407 in Boryeong.

  • Cebu $1,423
  • Boryeong $2,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,913 in Cebu versus $3,324 in Boryeong.

  • Cebu $1,913
  • Boryeong $3,324

Living in Cebu costs roughly 37% less than in Boryeong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 31% below, Boryeong is 10% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.79 ₱243
$8.93 ₩11.9K
-57.56%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$23.33 ₱1,493
$68.1 ₩90.4K
-65.73%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.94 ₱252
$7.32 ₩9,714
-46.17%
Cappuccino
$2.54 ₱163
$4.08 ₩5,410
-37.75%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.57 ₱100
$1.56 ₩2,072
0.64%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.47 ₱29.87
$0.75 ₩991
-37.33%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.77 ₱113
$3.77 ₩5,004
-53.05%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.22 ₱142
$5.85 ₩7,772
-62.05%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.90 ₱121
$2.12 ₩2,813
-10.38%
White Bread (500g)
$1.36 ₱87.3
$3.15 ₩4,180
-56.83%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.94 ₱59.9
$4.19 ₩5,559
-77.57%
Eggs
$1.99 ₱127
$3.53 ₩4,680
-43.63%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.70 ₱621
$17.85 ₩23.7K
-45.66%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.32 ₱276
$10.63 ₩14.1K
-59.36%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.51 ₱481
$26.69 ₩35.4K
-71.86%
Apples (1kg)
$3.31 ₱212
$7.90 ₩10.5K
-58.10%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 ₱87.6
$3.38 ₩4,493
-59.47%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.34 ₱150
$5.76 ₩7,647
-59.38%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.49 ₱95.5
$6.16 ₩8,176
-75.81%
Potato (1kg)
$2.30 ₱147
$3.68 ₩4,889
-37.50%
Onion (1kg)
$1.87 ₱120
$2.62 ₩3,479
-28.63%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.10 ₱70.4
$2.92 ₩3,882
-62.33%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.63 ₱40.42
$1.14 ₩1,515
-44.74%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.86 ₱183
$3.48 ₩4,618
-17.82%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.08 ₱389
$18.49 ₩24.5K
-67.12%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.27 ₱81.6
$2.28 ₩3,025
-44.30%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.72 ₱110
$3.27 ₩4,339
-47.40%
🚌 Getting Around
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.22 ₱14.01
$1.16 ₩1,540
-81.03%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$12.34 ₱790
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.74 ₱47.60
$3.65 ₩4,843
-79.73%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.22 ₱14.10
$0.64 ₩854
-65.63%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.28 ₱274
$8.75 ₩11.6K
-51.09%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 ₱83.8
$1.45 ₩1,930
-9.66%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.8K ₱1.3M
$29.2K ₩38.8M
-28.87%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$19.0K ₱1.2M
$28.5K ₩37.9M
-33.28%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$118 ₱7,577
$212 ₩282.0K
-44.26%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$15.76 ₱1,009
$35.99 ₩47.8K
-56.21%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.33 ₱1,813
$20.61 ₩27.4K
37.46%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$32.94 ₱2,108
$54.2 ₩72.0K
-39.27%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.49 ₱415
$14.07 ₩18.7K
-53.87%
Cinema Ticket
$5.45 ₱349
$11.14 ₩14.8K
-51.08%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$276 ₱17.6K
$379 ₩503.6K
-27.31%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,789 ₱498.4K
$22.5K ₩29.8M
-65.33%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$48.18 ₱3,083
$58.5 ₩77.7K
-17.67%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$24.47 ₱1,566
$32.86 ₩43.6K
-25.53%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.3 ₱4,817
$69.3 ₩92.0K
8.58%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$58.0 ₱3,713
$84.1 ₩111.6K
-30.97%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$477 ₱30.5K
$489 ₩648.7K
-2.33%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$322 ₱20.6K
$361 ₩479.4K
-10.89%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$963 ₱61.6K
$1,184 ₩1.6M
-18.63%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$626 ₱40.0K
$758 ₩1.0M
-17.47%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,551 ₱291.2K
$7,113 ₩9.4M
-36.01%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,028 ₱193.8K
$5,616 ₩7.5M
-46.08%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cebu
Boryeong
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$333 ₱21.3K
$1,484 ₩2.0M
-77.54%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.2
4.08
76.47%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 26, 2026

Last update for Boryeong: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cebu
$322
Boryeong
$361 12.2% $39
Groceries & Markets
Cebu
$204
Boryeong
$481 136% $277
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cebu
$163
Boryeong
$269 65.6% $107
Eating Out
Cebu
$94
Boryeong
$182 93.5% $88
Clothing & Footwear
Cebu
$93
Boryeong
$110 18.8% $17
Sport & Entertainment
Cebu
$44
Boryeong
$77 74.5% $33
Getting Around
Cebu
$15
Boryeong
$12 * 23.6% $3.6

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 $477 in Cebu and $489 in Boryeong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Boryeong pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $23 in Cebu vs $68 in Boryeong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $204 vs $481 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇭 Cebu
🇰🇷 Boryeong
🕒 Local time
18:02 6:02 PM
19:02 7:02 PM
1 h ahead of Cebu
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
964,169
103,620
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.22 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,327 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.53 USD). 1 EUR = 1,477 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cebu Boryeong 2,910 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Cebu
  • Boryeong

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 Boryeong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Cebu and in Boryeong?
Cebu and Boryeong differ by about 60% in total monthly costs ($934 vs $1,491 including rent). Cebu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 78% lower in Cebu. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How do apartment prices compare in Cebu and in Boryeong?
Rent for a central apartment: $477 in Cebu versus $489 in Boryeong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Cebu and Boryeong?
Childcare runs $276 in Cebu versus $379 in Boryeong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Cebu – a meal for two runs $23 versus $68 in Boryeong. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
How does quality of life compare between Cebu and Boryeong?
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.
Is Cebu or Boryeong safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Cebu and Boryeong are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
How do I decide between Cebu and Boryeong?
It comes down to priorities – Cebu wins on affordability, Boryeong on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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