Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and the Canary Islands

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,650 in the Canary Islands, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in the Canary Islands
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Canary Islands Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Canary Islands

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,650

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in the Canary Islands

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 the Canary Islands actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,650 in the Canary Islands.

Cebu $918
Canary Islands $1,650

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $2,373 in the Canary Islands.

Cebu $1,409
Canary Islands $2,373

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $3,095 in the Canary Islands.

Cebu $1,900
Canary Islands $3,095

Living in Cebu costs roughly 44% less than in the Canary Islands, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Canary Islands is 22% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$20.32 €18.07

-84.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$61.1 €54.3

-60.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$9.42 €8.38

-58.39%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.05 €1.83

22.44%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.86 €1.65

-14.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.10 €0.98

-51.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.85 €2.53

-37.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.42 €3.04

-36.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.36 €1.21

41.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$2.39 €2.13

-43.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.58 €1.40

-36.08%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.18 €1.94

-6.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$19.31 €17.18

-48.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$9.93 €8.83

-55.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$17.23 €15.33

-55.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.73 €2.43

20.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.25 €2.00

-38.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.16 €1.92

7.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$2.51 €2.23

-40.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.14 €1.91

10.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.02 €1.80

-5.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.70 €1.51

-30.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.93 €0.83

-32.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$4.66 €4.14

-35.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$7.86 €6.99

-23.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.70 €1.51

-27.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.75 €1.55

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.86 €0.76

-70.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$4.24 €3.78

-81.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.69 €1.50

-86.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$16.59 €14.75

-73.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.70 €1.51

-22.94%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$24.9K €22.2K

-14.75%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$29.0K €25.8K

-33.90%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$126 €112

-4.64%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$20.91 €18.60

-33.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$35.49 €31.57

-22.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$47.49 €42.25

-31.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$24.07 €21.41

-72.37%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$9.85 €8.76

-42.64%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$400 €355

-31.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$5,096 €4,533

55.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$68.3 €60.7

-27.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$38.65 €34.38

-34.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$89.6 €79.7

-14.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$114 €101

-49.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$1,111 €988

-55.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$680 €605

-54.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$825 €734

-25.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,369 €1,218

-74.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

3.33

116.22%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for the Canary Islands: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Canary Islands

$680 41.2% 120% $371

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Canary Islands

$316 19.2% 53.7% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Canary Islands

$182 11.1% 12.8% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Canary Islands

$140 8.5% 48.7% $46

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Canary Islands

$248 15.1% 181% $160

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Canary Islands

$67 4.1% 54% $24

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Canary Islands

$16 * 1% 3.5% $0.6

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 $500 in Cebu and $1,111 in the Canary Islands. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Canary Islands pays 296% 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 $61.0 in the Canary Islands for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $316 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇪🇸 Canary Islands

🕒 Local time

03:58 3:58 AM

20:58 8:58 PM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

12,050

💱 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

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Between locations

Cebu Canary Islands 13,990 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Canary Islands

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 Canary Islands: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu wins on cost – living expenses run 80% lower than in the Canary Islands. 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 296% lower in the Canary Islands. 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 $1,111 in the Canary Islands. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in the Canary Islands. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $1,650 in the Canary Islands – a 80% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,650 in the Canary Islands, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in the Canary Islands. 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 Canary Islands 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 80% less than in the Canary Islands. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.